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HISTORY
OF
Morrison and Todd Counties
Minnesota
THEIR PEOPLE, INDUSTRIES AND INSTITUTIONS
BY
CLARA K. FULLER
With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and
Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families
VOLUME II
ILLUSTRATED
ait
1915
B. F. BOWEN & COMPANY, Inc.
Indianapolis, Indiana
CONTENTS
MORRISON COUNTY
CHAPTER I— RELATED STATE HISTORY 33
Organization of State of Wisconsin — Congressional Bill for Organization
of Minnesota Territory — Adjustment of the Boundary Lines Between Wis-
consin and Minnesota — Naming of the New Territory — Question as to
Territorial Jurisdiction — Territorial Organization — Henry H. Sibley, First
Congressional Delegate — The Name, Minnesota — The Territory from 1849
to 1854 — Early Trading Posts and Settlements— St. Paul— First Newspaper-
Formal Organization of the New Territory — Governor's Proclamation,
Dividing the Territory into Districts for Judicial and Legislative Purposes
— Early Newspapers — First Court — First Legislative Assembly — An Inter-
esting Event — Noteworthy First Events — Treaty with the Indians — Events
of 1852 and 1853 — Events Just Prior to Minnesota's Admission as a State —
The Years 1856-7 — Admission of Minnesota to Statehood.
CHAPTER II— GEOLOGY, TOPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL FE.\TURES— 45
State and County Surveys — Area of Morrison County — Surface Features —
Streams — Lakes — Topography — Altitudes — Soil and Timber — Prsiries-
Geological Structure — Wells — Material Resources — Water Power — Mills —
Building Stone — Bricks — Archaeology — Peculiar Earthworks — Natlian Rich-
ardson's Account of Mounds — Hole-in-the-Day's Bluff.
CHAPTER III— INDIAN TRIBES AND EARLY MISSIONARIES 54
Early Indian Tribes in Northern Minnesota — The Sioux Indians — The Dako-
tahs — Indian Villages — The Winnebagoes — Ojibway or Chippewa Nation —
Treaties with the Indians — Early Church Missions — Religious Efforts at
Mackinaw — The Chippewa Mission at Pokeguma — A Dictionary of the Sioux
Language — Rapid Increase in Mission Work — Final Disposition of the
Indians.
CHAPTER IV— EARLY SETTLEMENT OF MORRISON COUNTY 60
Location and Area of the County — Surface Features — Population — Points of
Historic Interest in the County — Lieut. Zebulon M. Pike — Early Settlements
— Early Movements of the Traders — First Missionary in Morrison County —
Some of the First Settlers— Father Pierz— His Successful Efforts to Maintain
Peace with the Indians— Oldest Living Settler — William Nicholson — A Half-
breed Settler— Swedish Settlers in Morrison County — Norwegian Settlers —
The German Population — The French in Morrison County — French Settlers
CONTENTS.
of the Fifties — Martin Bissoii and Other French Settlers of the Sixties, Seven-
ties and Eighties — Early French Priests — French Settlers of Todd County.
CH.^PTEK V— COUNTY GOVERNMENT 73
Organization of Morrison County — Legislative Act Creating the County —
How Named— First Officers — Changes in Civil Divisions — Present Town-
ships — Court House History — First Voting Precincts — Court House Bonds
— The First Temple of Justice — The Present Court House — County Jail His-
tory — Caring for the Poor — Tax Levies of 1857 and 1876 — Property Valua-
tion in 1914 — Financial Statement. 1915 — Bank Deposits of County.
CHAPTER VI— COUNTY, STATE AND NATIONAL REPRESENTATION.. 79
Governors of Minnesota — Congressmen — State Senators — State Representa-
tives — County Officers — ."Xuditors — Treasurers — Sheriffs — Registers of Deeds
— Judges of Probate — County Attorneys — County Surveyors — Coroners —
Clerks of the Court — Court Commissioners — Superintendents of Schools
— County Commissioners — Presidential Vote.
CHAPTER VII— AGRICULTURAL, STOCK RAISING AND DAIRYING... 85
Favorable Conditions for Productive Agriculture — Direct Communication
to the Great Markets — Grain — Potatoes and Vegetables— Fruits — Live
Stock — Dairying — Farm Lands — Grasses — .Agricultural Societies — The Pio-
neer Fair of Morrison County — Farm Names.
CHAPTER VIII— BANKS AND BANKING 93
A Creditable Financial History — Banks at Little Falls, Pierz, Genola, Up-
sala, Randall, Royalton, Swanville, Motley and Bowlus — Little Falls Bank
Deposits — -Benefits of Modern Methods in Farm Life.
CHAPTER IX— SCHOOLS OF MORRISON COUNTY 98
Educational Methods Have Kept Pace with the Times — A Report in 1881
— First School in Morrison County — First Schools in Various Sections of
the County — Organization of .School Districts — Buildings — Teachers —
Pupils — Expenses and Valuation — Modern l-"ducational Metliods — Special
State .Aid— Little Falls High School.
CHAPTER X— NEWSPAPERS OF MORRISON COUNTY 103
The First Newspaper in Morrison County — H. C. Stivers, the First Success-
ful Editor and Journalist — Wheaton M. I'uller — Newspapers at Little Falls.
Pierz, Swanville, Royalton and Motley.
CHAPTER XI— (.HUKCHES IN MORRISON COUNTY 108
Interest of the Early Settlers in Religious and Moral Matters — Church of
the Holy I'^amily, One of the Oldest Churches in Northern Minnesota — The
Convent — Other Catholic Churches — Methodist Episcopal Churches — Bap-
tist Church — German I'.vangelical Lutheran Zion Church — Episcopal
Churches — Presbyterian Churches — Congregational Churches — Other Reli-
gious Societies.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XII— CIVIC SOCIETIES OF MORRISON COUNTY 121
The Masonic Order — Independent Order of Odd Fellows — Grand Army of
the Republic — Woman's Relief Corps — Other Fraternities Scattered Over
the County.
CHAPTER XIII— BENCH AND BAR OF MORRISON COUNTY 125
The Pioneer Attorney and Other Early Members of the Bar — Brief Per-
sonal Mention of Some of the Prominent Attorneys Who Have Practiced
Here — Attorneys of 1915 — The Bar Association.
CHAPTER XIV— MILITARY AND INDIAN AFFAIRS OF MORRISON
COUNTY 129
The County's Part in the Civil War and in the Spanish-American Con-
flict—The Indian Outbreak of 1862— The Massacre at New Ulm— The
Federal and State Governments Unprepared for the Emergency — Quick
Work by Colonel Sibley and His Troops— Danger of a Chippewa War —
The Indian Depredations — Siege of Fort Abercrombie — Mounted Rangers
—Battle of Birch Coolie— Relief for the Refugees— Creation of Military
Department — Battle of Wood Lake — Release of the Captives — Close of the
Indian War — Execution of Thirty-eight Indian Murderers.
CHAPTER XV— PHYSICIANS OF MORRISON COUNTY 142
Rapid Strides in Medicine and Surgery — Early Physicians in Morrison
County— Physicians in the Eighties and Nineties— List of Registered Physi-
cians — Present Physicians.
CHAPTER XVI— COMING OF THE RAILROADS 146
Effect of Railroads on the Advancement of the State of Minnesota— Land
Grants and Construction of the Roads— Railroads in Morrison County-
Mileage.
CHAPTER XVII— TOWNSHIPS OF MORRISON COUNTY 150
Belle Prairie Township — Gravelville — Belle Prairie— Motley Township-
Motley Village— Bellevue Township— Royalton — Buckman Township —
Buckman Village— Little Falls Township— Pierz Township— Town of Pierz
— Genola (New Pierz) — Two Rivers Townshipi— Bowlus — Swan River
Township— Parker Township— Scandia Valley Township— Elmdale Town-
ship— Upsala— Greene Prairie Township— Culdrum Township— Ripley
Township— Old Ft. Ripley— -\gram Township— Rails Prairie Township—
Clough Township— Darling Township — Gushing Township— Mount Morris
Township— Pulaski Township— Platte Township— Granite Township— Ros-
ing Township— Hilman Township— Lakin Township— Richardson Town-
ship—Leigh Township— Morrill Township— Pike Creek Township— Buh
Township— Lastrip—Swanville Township— Village of Swanville.
CHAPTER XVIII— CITY OF LITTLE FALLS -— 181
Made Seat of Justice— Location— Early Settlement and Development— Sur-
veys— Water Power— Mills— Sale of Town Lots— Murder of a German
Peddler— Sioux Massacre at Little Falls— Little Falls War— Municipal His-
CONTENTS.
tory — Incorporation — First Election — Presidents and Mayors — Present City
Officers — Fire Department and Water Supply — Postoffice History — The
"White Way"— Pine Grove Park — Public Library — Little Falls Water Power
Company — Pine Tree Lumber Company — Flour-mill Industries — Hennepin
Paper-mills Company — Little Falls Iron Works — Jacob Kiewel Brewing
Company — The Brick Industry — Manufacturing Statistics. 1913 — Business
College — Catholic Hospital and Orphanage.
CHAPTER XIX— THE POLISH PEOPLE 200
Origin of the Polish People — Oppression and Persecutions in Europe —
Emigrations to the United States — First Polish Emigrant to Morrison
County — North Prairie Settlement and Other Polish Colonies in this County
— Their Prominent Part in the Development of the County — Prosperous and
Progressive Citizens.
CHAPTER XX— MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS 203
Population of Morrison County at Different Periods — Incorporated Towns
and Villages — Postofifices in 1915 — Recorded Village Plats — Town Plats —
Grasshopper Ravages — Only Legal Hanging in the County — Discovery of
Iron Ore — Worthy Pioneer — Little Falls Granite Quarries.
TODD COUNTY
CHAPTER I— GEOLOGY AND SURFACE FEATURES 211
Area of Todd County — Surface Features — Streams and Drainage — Lakes —
Topography — Elevations — Soil — Timber — Geological Structure — Mater-
ial Resources.
CHAPTER II— EARLY DAYS IX TODD COUNTY 215
Fine Advantages for Home Building — Attractive Side of F"ronticr Life — The
Indian Problem — Disputes Between the Sioux and Chippewa Indians —
Old Indian Agency at Long Prairie — Early Settlers — An Old-
Fashioned Pole Raising — The Sioux Outbreak — A Courageous Pioneer —
Original Boundaries of Todd County — Rapid Settlement .-\ftcr Peace was
Secured with the Indians — Old Long Prairie and Mississippi Road — Round
and Long Prairie Settlements — Settlers in the Whitcville Neighborhood —
Other Pioneers of 1865 and Later — F'irst Polish Colony — Coming of the
Railroad — Town of Staples — Reward of Industry — Mills — Attempts at River
Traffic.
CHAPTER III— COUNTY GOVERNMENT 232
Organization of the County — Division into Districts, and, Later, into Town-
ships — First Election — First Officers — Acts of the Board of Commissioners —
First Court House — Early Finances — Court House and Jail History — Poor
Farm Experiment — Assessed Valuations. 1914-15 — Officials and Employees of
the County — County Financial Statement, 1915.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV— COUNTY, STATE AND NATIONAL REPRESENTATION- 239
Congressmen — State Senators — State Representatives — County Auditors —
Treasurers — Sheriffs — Register of Deeds — Judges of Probate — County At-
torneys — County Surveyors — Coroners — Clerks of the Court — Court Com-
missioners — School Superintendents — County Commissioners — Presidential
Vote of Todd County.
CHAPTER V— AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES OF TODD COUNTY 244
Agriculture the Prime Base of all Wealth — Original Condition of Todd
County — Influence of the Railroads on the Development of the County —
Water Supply — Farm Products — Dairying Interests — A Creamery Report —
Todd County Agricultural Society.
CHAPTER VI— CHURCHES IN TODD COUNTY 249
Early Interest of the Pioneers in Religious Matters — B'irst Church Build-
ing — The Pioneer Missionaries — Denominations Now Represented in the
County — Methodist Episcopal Churches — An Interesting Account of Early
Church Life in Todd County — A Versatile Pioneer Pastor — First Sunday
School Organized — Rural Churches — Long Prairie Methodism — Polish
Parish of St. Joseph at Browerville — Early Polish Immigrants — Organization
of the First Church — Donations for the Church — Erection and Dedication
of the Building — Pastors of St. Joseph's — School of Holy Angels — New
Customs Learned in America — Troublous Times — Division of the Congre-
gation — Agreement — Polish Members Assume Debt — Instructors in the
School — The Parish House — Rev. John St. Guzdek — Erection of the New
Church — Blessing of the Cornerstone — Dedication of the New Church —
Rev. Guzdek's Pastoral Work — Trustees of the Congregation — Greek Cath-
olic Church — Poles as American Citizens — Present Membership of the Par-
ish.
CHAPTER VII— TODD COUNTY NEWSPAPERS 273
Brief Mention of the Various Newspapers Which Have Existed in Todd
County — Officers .'\11 Have Good Equipment — Local Papers Managed by
Able Men.
CHAPTER VIII— EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS 276
High Rank of Todd County in the Matter of Schools — The First School —
Summary of the Annual Report of the County School Superintendent —
Other Statistics — A Review of the County Educational System by the Pres-
ent Superintendent.
CHAPTER IX— BANKS OF TODD COUNTY 280
Prosperity of County Accompanied by Corresponding Growth in Bank De-
posits — Bank Reports of March, 1915 — Brief Mention of the Banks at Grey
Eagle, Staples, Long Prairie, Burtrum, Eagle Bend, Browerville, Clarissa
and Bertha.
CHAPTER X— TOWNSHIPS OF TODD COUNTY 286
Division of the County into Townships — Long Prairie Township and the
CONTENTS.
Townships of Hartford, West Union, Gordon. Birch Dale, Kandota. Little
Sauk, Grey Eagle, Leslie, Moran, Stowe Prairie, Ward, Bertha, Wykeham.
Germania, Eagle Valley, lona, Fawn Lake, Staples, Villard, Bartlett. Bur-
leene, Reynolds, Little Elk. Bruce. Round Prairie. Turtle Creek and Burn-
ville.
CHAPTER XI— CITIES AND VILLAGES 295
City of Staples — Location — First Mill — Public Improvements — Population —
Business Interests — Churches — Eagle Bend — Long Prairie — Round Prairie —
Hewitt — West Union — Clarissa — Burtrum — Grey Eagle — Bertha — Brower-
ville — Little Sauk.
CHAPTER XII— MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS 303
Population by Townships, Cities and Villages, According to the Census
Reports of 1890, 1900 and 1910— Prospective Iron Ore Wealth— Lake and
Summer Resorts — Village Plats.
HISTORICAL INDEX
MORRISON COUNTY
Agram Township 73, IT, 173, 204
Agricultural Societies 88
Altitudes 47
American Fur Company 57
Ancient Earthworks 52
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons 121
Archaeology 52
Area of Morrison County 45 60
Assembly, First Legislative 38
Attorneys, County 82
Attorney, First in the County 125
Auditors, County 82
Ayer, Frederick 63, 98, 151
B
Banks and Banking 78, 93
Baptist Church 117
Bar Association 128
Battle of Birch Coolie 135
Battle of Wood Lake 139
Belle Prairie 69, 98, 108, 119, 143, 151
Belle Prairie Township 47, 73, 11
150, 204, 208
Bellevue Township 47, 11, 11, 98
154, 204. 208
Bench and Bar 125
Big Bend 205
Birch Coolie, Battle of 135
Bisson, Martin 69
Bowlus 96, 164, 202, 205, 206
Brick-making 51, 196
Brotherhood of American Yeomen 124
Buckfield 205
Buckman 110, 157, 205, 206
Buckman Township 47, 73, 11
99, 157, 204
Buh Township 1i, 17, 179, 204
Building Stone 51
Business College 197
C
Catholic Churches— 57, 63, 108, 156, 179
Chippewa Mission 57
Chippewa War, Danger of 132
Chippewas 54, 56, 63, 132
Church History 108
Church Missions, Early 56
Church of the Holy Family 108
Civic Societies 121
Clerks of the Court 83
Clough Township 1i, 71, 174, 204
Commissioners, County 83
Commissioners, Court 83
Congregational Churches 119
Congressmen 79
Convent at Belle Prairie 109
Corn 85
Coroners 83
County Attorneys 82
County Auditors 82
County Commissioners 83
County Election, First 73
County Finances 11
County Government 73
County Officers 81
County Superintendents 83
County Surveyors 83
County Treasurers 82
County's Bank Deposits 78
Court Commissioners 83
Court House History 74
Court House, Present 75
Creameries 87
Culdrum Township 47, 13, 77. 171, 204
Cushing 174, 205, 206
Gushing Township 13, 77, 174, 204
HISTORICAL INDEX.
D
Dairying °"
Dakotali Language 58
Dakotahs 40, 54
Dakotahs. Treaty with 40
Darling 67, 174
Darling Township 77, 174, 204
Daughters of Kebekah 122
Districts, School 99
Doctors of Morrison County 142
Drainage, Natural 45
Eagles, h'raternal Order of 124
Early Missions 56
Early Settlement 60
Earthworks, Ancient 52
Eastern Star, Order of 121
Education 98, 167, 171
Election, First County 73
Elevations 47
Elks, Benevolent and Protective
Order 124
Elmdale Township 47, 73, 77. 99
168, 202, 204
Episcopal Churches 118, 156
Events, First Noteworthy 39
Events of 1852-3 41
Execution, First Public, in State.-- 4,i
Execution of Indian Murderers 140
[•'reedhem 67
French in Morrison County 68
French Priests 71
h>uits 86
Genola 94, 162. 205, 206
Geology 49
German Evan. Luth. Zion's Church-- 118
German Population 68
Governors of Minnesota 79
Grain 85
Grand Army of the Republic 123
Granite City 205
Granite Township 73, 77, 176, 204
Grasses 88
Grasshopper Ravages 1 207
Gravelville 151
Green Prairie Township 73. 77, 99
169, 204
H
Half-breed Settler 65
Hennepin Paper Mills Company 195
Hillman 177, 205, 206
Hillman Township 73. 77. 176, 204
Historic Points 60
Historical Society of Minnesota 38
lloldingford 202
llole-in-the-Day's BlufT 53
Holy Cross Church 114
Fair, the First 89
Farm Lands 8/
F'arm Names 89
Farm Products 85
Ferries, Early 159
I'inances of County 77
hirst County Election 73
l'"irst Events, Noteworthy 39
I'irst Fair 89
hirst Public Execution in State 43
Flensburg 202, 205, 206
I'lour-mill Industries 194
Foresters 124
Ft. Abercrombie, Siege of 134
Ft. Ripley 171
I'ratcrnities 121
I
Improved Order of Red Men 124
Incorporated Towns and \'illages 205
Independent Order of Odd Fellows— 122
Indian Depredations 43, 130
Indian Missionaries 58
Indian Outbreak 130
Indian Tribes 35, 40. 54, 58
Indians Executed 14(1
Indians, Final Disposition of 58
Iron Ore, Discovery of 208
Jail History 75
Janesville 205
Judges of Probate 82
HISTORICAL INDEX.
K
Knights of Columbus 124
Lakes - _ _ __ .
46
168
Lakin Township Ti. 77.
176,
204
Land Grants to Railroads
146
Lands, Farm
87
Lastrup
170
Lawyer, First in the County
__-_
125
Lawyers, Present
PS
Ledoux _-
166
Legal Hanging, Only, in County
■_-.
207
Legislative Assembly, First
38
Leigh Township 7i, 77,
177,
204
Lincoln
.205,
706
Little Elk
?n=;
Little Falls-- 67, 70, 74, 77,
88.
93
96, 98, 102, 103,
110,
lis
117, 118, 119, 121,
123,
125
142, 145, 181, 202,
205,
206
Little Falls Township 47,
7i.
77
158,
204
Little Falls War
184
Little Falls Water Power Co.
iQ7
Live Stock _ _
86
Lodges
PI
Long Prairie _ .
7'
Lulo
205
Mc
McKinley 206
M
Maccabees, Kniglits of the 124
Manufactures, Little Falls 197
Masonic Order 121
Massacre at New Ulm 130
Material Resources 51
Methodist Episcopal Churches-- 58, 62
115, 156
Military Affairs 129
Mills 51, 63, 153, 156, 161, 181, 193
Minnesota, the Name 35
Minnesota Territory, 1849-1854 35
Minnesota Territory Organized a
Miscellaneous Subjects-. 203
Missionaries to Indians 58
Missionary, First 62
Missions, Early Church 56
Modern Brotherhood of America 124
Modern School Methods 101
Modern Woodmen of America 124
Morainic Areas 45, 46
Morrill Township- 47, 7i, 77, \77 , 204
Motley 88, 96, 99, 106, 116, 123
145, 152, 205, 206
Motley Township 47, 7Z, 77. 152, 204
Mounds 52
Mt. Morris Township.__73, 77. 175, 204
Mounted Rangers 135
Murder of a German Peddler 183
N
Naming of Morrison County 7i
Navigation of Minnesota River 39
New Pierz 94, 162, 205, 206
Newspaper, First in Territory 36. 37
Newspaper History 36, 40, 103
New Ulm Massacre 130
Nicholson, William 62, 64
North Prairie 165, 201, 206
Norwegian Settlers 67
O
Oakwood Township 73, 99
Odd Fellows 122
Oldest Living Settler 64
Olean 205
Organization of Morrison County 7i
Organization of School Districts 99
Organization of Territory 37
Otto's Orphanage 199
Parker Township— 47, 7i, 77, 99, 166, 204
Physicians of Morrison County 142
Physicians, Present 145
Pierz 94, 106, 113, 145, 162, 205, 206
Pierz, Father Francis 63, 71, 108
113, 161
Pierz Township 47, 7i. 77, 98, 160, 204
Pike Creek Township-47, 7i. 77. 178, 204
Pike, Lieut. Zebulon M. 61
HISTORICAL INDEX.
Pike's Fort 60
Pine Tree Lumber Company 193
Platte Township Ti, 77, 175, 202. 204
Polish People 200
Poor, Caring for the 76
Population of Morrison County 60, 203
Potatoes 86
Prairies 49
Presbyterian Church 57, 119
Present Court House 75
Presidential Vote 84
Probate Judges 82
Property Valuations 76
Pulaski Township 73, 11, 175, 204
Pupils, Public School 100
Q
Quarries 50, 209
R
Railroad History 146
Railroad Land Grants 146
Railroad Mileage in the County 149
Rails Prairie Township--73, 11, 173, 204
Ramey 205
Randall 11, 95, 174, 205, 206, 208
Rcbekah, Daughters of 122
Recorded Village Plats 205
Red Men 124
Registered Physicians 144
Registers of Deeds 82
Related State History },2>
Representatives 81
Richardson, Nathan 209
Richardson Township 11, 11, \11 , 204
Ripley Township 47, 73, 11, 171, 204
I'tock ( )utcroppings 49
Rosing Township 11, 11, 176, 204
Royal Arch Masons 121
Royalton 77,95, 106, 114, 116, 118, 121
124, 145, 155, 205, 206
Riickor 205
Sacred Heart Church 111
St. .\dalbcrt Church 112
St. Francis Xavier Church 110
St. Gabriel's Hospital 198
St. Joseph's Benevolent Society 124
St. Joseph's Church 113
St. Michael's Church 110
St. Stanislaus Kostka Church 112
Scandia Valley Township-73, 11, 167, 204
Scandinavian Evangelical Church 66
School Districts 99
School Houses 100
School Methods, Modern 101
School Statistics 100
Schools of Morrison County 98
Seal of the State 39
Secret Societies 121
Senators, State 80
Settlements 60, 65, 67, 69, 150
155, 157, 159. 160, 163
165, 168, 170, 171. 178
Settler, Oldest Living 64
Sheriffs 82
Sibley, Henry H. 33, 34, i1 , 130, 135
Sioux Indians 35, 54, 63, 132
Sioux Massacre at Little Falls 184
Sioux Villages 55
Soil 48
Spanish-.'\merican War 129, 141
State Aid for Schools 101
State History, Related 2i2
State Organic Act 44
State Representatives 81
State Seal 39
State Senators 80
Stone Quarries 50, 209
Streams 45
Superintendents of School 83
Surface Features 45, 85
Surveyors, County 83
Swan River Township 47, 73, 11, 165
202, 204
Swanville ...12, 17. 96, 106, 118, 121, 124
145, 180, 205, 206
Swanville Township 73, 180, 204
Swedish Baptist Church 120
Swedish Congregational Church 67
Swedish Free Church 67
Swedish Lutheran Church-66, 67, 120, 169
Swedish Methodist Church 67
Swedish Mission Church 66, 120, 169
Swedish Settlements 65
HISTORICAL INDEX.
T
Tax Levies 76
Teachers 100
Territorial Boundaries 33
Territorial Officers T>T , 42
Territory, Organization of 37
Timber 48
Topograpliy 46
Townships of Morrison County ISO
Trading Posts 62
Treasurers, County 82
Treaty with Dakotahs 40
Trees 48
Two Rivers Township 47, li, 77
163, 201, 204
U
United Workmen, Ancient Order of- 124
Upsala 67, 94, 120, 169
V
Valuations, Property 76
Vawter 206
Vegetables 86
Village Plats 205
w
Water Power 51
Wells 51
Winnebagoes 54, 58, 132
Woman's Relief Corps 123
Wood Lake, Battle of 139
Woodmen, Modern 124
Y
Yeomen 124
TODD COUNTY
Adventist Churches 250
Agricultural Society 247
Agriculture 244
Altitudes 213
Area of County 211
Assessed Valuation 237
Attractions of Pioneer Life 215
Auditors, County 240
Brick-making 214
Browerville -228, 237, 250, 255, 274, 276
280, 282, 284, 301, 303, 306
Bruce Township 237, 293, 303
Burgstrom 306
Burleene Township 228, 237, 292, 303
Burnhamville 227, 249, 306
Burnhamville Township 237, 294, 303
Burtrum 237, 250, 276, 280, 282
294, 299, 303, 306
B
Banks 280
Baptist Churches 250
Bartlett Township 237, 292, 303
Beautiful Vistas 215
Bertha 228, 237, 250, 275, 276, 280
284, 290, 300. 303, 306
Bertha Township 229, 237, 290, 303
Birch Lake 287, 306
Birchdale 223
Birchdale Township 237, 287, 303
Bohemian Settlers 229
Boundaries, Original County 221
Catholic Churches 250, 255
Cattle 245
Chippewas 216, 219, 222
Christian Church 250
Church, the First 249
Churches of Todd County 249
Clarissa 228, 237, 250, 275, 276, 280,
282, 290, 298, 303, 306
Clerks of the Court 242
Climate, Attractive 244
Cogel 294
Commissioners' Districts 232
HISTORICAL INDEX.
Commissioners, County 242
Commissioners, Court 242
Commissioners, Early Acts of 233, 235
Congregational Churches 250
Congressmen 239
Coroners 242
County Attorneys 241
County Auditors 240
County Boundaries, Original 221
County Commissioners 242
County Finances, Present 238
County Government 232
County Officers, First 232
County Officers' Salaries 237
County Official Roster 239
County Surveyors 241
County Treasurers 240
Courageous Pioneer 220
Court Commissioners 242
Court House History 234, 235
Creameries 245
D
Dairying Interests 245
Depredations by Indians 219
Dower Lake 306
Drainage, Natural 211
Eagle Bend 228, 237, 250. 273, 280
282, 290, 296. 303
Eagle Valley Township.226, 237, 290, 303
Early Days 215
Early Farming Difficulties 231
Early Finances 235
Early Religious Worship 249
Early Roads 223
Early Settlers Novif Living 222
Educational Interests 276
Election, First County 233
Elevations 213
Episcopal Churches 250
Finances, Early 235
Finances, Present County 238
First Church Building 249
First County Officers 232
First Court House 234
First Election 233
Free Methodist Church 250
French Settlers 224
Geology 213
German Lutheran Church 250
German Settlers 224, 226. 229
Germania Township 228, 229. 237
290. 303
Gordon Township 2il . 287, 303
Grain 245
Grasses 245
Greek Catholic Church 270
Grey Eagle 223, 237, 250, 274, 276
280, 281, 300, 303, 306
Grey Eagle Township 237, 288, 303
Guzdek, Rev. John St. 264
H
Hartford 225
Hartford Township 217, 226, 229, 232
237, 257, 286, 303
Hansen 306
Hewitt 237, 250, 273, 280
289, 296, 303, 306
Holy Angels School 259
Indian Agency 217
Indian Camps 216
Indian Outbreak 219
Indian Problem 216
Indians 216, 219, 222
lona Township 226, 237, 291, 303
Iron Ore, Prospective 304
Fair, the h'irst 247
Fair Grounds 247
Fawn Lake Township 237, 291, 303
Jail IIi.>;tory 235
Judges of Probate 241
HISTORICAL INDEX.
K
Kandota 223
Kandota Township__-.233, 237, 287, 303
Lake Osakis 212, 217, 227, 287, 305
Lakes 212, 305
Land in Cultivation 244
Leevilla 306
Leslie 307
Leslie Township 237, 288, 303
Lincoln 291
Little Elk Township_-217, 237, 293, 303
Little Sauk 251, 288, 301
Little Sauk Township 237, 288, 304
Living Early Settlers 222
Long Prairie— 211, 217, 218, 221, 224, 237
250, 254, 256, 273, 280, 281
282, 285, 286, 296, 304, 306
Long Prairie-Mississippi Road 223
Long Prairie Township 229, 232, 237
286, 304
Lutheran Churches 250, 254
M
Material Resources . 214
Methodist Episcopal Churches — 250, 251
Mills 230
Missionaries, Pioneer 250
Moran Township__226, 229, 237, 289, 304
N
Navigation, River 231
New England Settlers 229
Newspapers 233, 273
Norwegian Lutheran Church 250
Norwegian Synod 250
O
Oak Hill 288
Officers, First County 232
Official Roster 239
Organization of the County 232
Osakis 237, 287, 304
Osakis Lake 212, 217, 227, 287, 305
P
Philbrook 229, 292, 306
Pillsbury 227, 250, 293
Pioneer Attractions 215
Pioneer Church History 251
Pioneer Conditions 215
Pioneer Missionaries 250
Pioneers of 1865 225
Pioneer Privations 221
Pole-raising, Old Fashioned 218
Poles as American Citizens 271
Poles, Character of 271
Polish Church at Browerville 255
Polish Settlers 226, 256
Polish Sisters of St. Benedict 263
Poor-farm Experiment 236
Poor Relief 234
Population of Todd County 303
Prairies 213
Presbyterian Churches 250
Presidential Vote 242
Privations of Pioneers 221
Probate Judges 241
R
Railroad, Coming of the 227
Registers of Deeds 241
Relief for the Poor 234
Report of Schools ■--- 276
Representatives 239
Reynolds Township 236, 233, 237
292, 304
Rivers 211
Roads, Early 223
Rock Exposures 213
Roster of County Officials 239
Round Prairie 224, 250, 276
293, 296, 306
Round Prairie Township 232, 237
249, 293, 304
Rural Churches 254
S
St. Joseph's Church 255
Salaries of County Officers 237
Scandinavian Settlers 229
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
School Districts 232
School Examiner 232
School of Holy Angels 259
School Statistics 276
School Superintendents 234, 235. 242
-Schools, the 276
Senators, State 239
Settlement, Permanent 222
Settlers, Living Early 222
Sheriffs 241
Sioux Indians 216, 219
Sisters of St. Benedict 263
Sliters Beach 306
Social Life, Pioneer 215
Soil 213
Staples 228, 237, 250, 274, 280
281, 284, 291. 295, 304, 307
Staples Mill 307
Staples Township 237, 291, 304
State Representatives 239
State Senators 239
Stowe Prairie Township 228, 237
289, 304
Streams 211
Sunday School, the First 253
Superintendents of School 234, 235, 242
Surface Features 211
Surveyors, County 241
Swedish Episcopal Church 250
Swedish Lutheran Churches 250
Swedish Mission Church 250
T
Timber 213
Todd County Agricultural Society.- 247
Topography of County 212
Townships of Todd County 286
Trading with the Indians 216
Transportation Problems, Early 231
Treasurers, County 240
Turtle Creek Township 237, 293, 304
U
United Brethren Church 250, 253
V
Valuations. Assessed 237
Van Cleve, General 218, 220
Versatile Pastor 251
Villard Township 237, 292, 304
W
Ward Township-.226. 229. 237, 289, 304
Wards Springs 287, 306
Water Supply 244
Wells 213, 244
West Union 237, 250, 280, 287
298, 304, 306
West Union Township 232, 237
287, 304
Whiteville 225
Winnebagoes 217, 219
Wykeham Township... 228, 237, 290, 304
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX
A
Adams. E. P. 505
Andersen, Hans C. 479
Anderson, Alex 653
Anderson, Frank 641
Andre, CamiUe H. D. M 471
Andwood, John A. 564
Ayer, Lyman W. 661
B
Bakom, Kyle H. 685
Barnes, Prof. Martin E 356
Bastien, Frank X. 499
Bates. Benjamin B. 706
Bennett, Silas T. 610
Bergheim, Nels Nelson 448
Berglund, John 654
Bergman, Axel 422
Biteman, Isaac 379
Blom, Sven M. 626
Boehm, Frank 371
Bolander, Carl 498
Borgstrom, Axel M. 404
Borgstrom, Rasmus 476
Botteniiller, Charles 517
Bouck, Hon. Charles W 372
Brick, Otto J. 657
Brick. Simon P. 376
Brockway, William C. 378
Brooks, Warren W. 527
Brown. Charles H. 432
Brown. Otis J., M. D 511
Bujalski. Rev. Stephen 592
Burton. Barney 489
C
Calhoun. George 444
Callahan. Thomas F. 679
Cameron, Donald M. 521
Chapman. Clinton E. 440
Chirhart. George N. 436
Chirhart. Joseph J. 415
Cochran. Survetus C. 587
Corbin, Dura 507
Cox, Bennett B. 393
Cox, William H. 381
Crosstield, John W. 502
D
Dally, Willis C. 424
Dalquist, Carl O. 537
Davies, Frank P. 656
Dobbyn, Prof. Frank W. 375
Docken, John H. 496
Dubbels, George 649
Dvorak, Peter 627
E
Eckblad, Axel 525
Edden, Wilham 634
Edeburn, George 705
Ehr, Ethel M. 435
Erickson, Carl J. 607
Erickson, Rubin 403
Erlandson, Erick 580
Etzell, George A. 637
F
Falk, James W. 389
Farrow, Franklin P. 481
Featherston, James W. 454
Fenn, Andrew J. 495
Flood, Edward A. 395
Fortier, George M. A., M. D 490
Franzen, Gust 698
Freeman, Fred 531
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
Gassert, Henry 426
Gendreau, Paul 528
Gordon, Thomas C. 509
Gothman, Henry 703
Gravel, Charles, Sr. 401
Gravel, Charles E. 383
Groover, Leslie A. 559
Gunderson, Mark J. 684
Gutches, Merton E. 704
H
Hall, Elmer E., M. D 360
Hanson, John W. 538
Hanson, Willie 623
Hart, James 652
Hartmann, Joseph B. 398
Hartmann, Philip A. 387
Haymaker, Ernest G. 460
Hedin, Henry 411
Hedin, Jolin 640
Hegg, John 659
Hennen, Nicholas J. 560
Herum, Andrew 590
Herrmann, Chris 524
Hitzemann, Otto H. 385
Hokenson, Henry E. 408
Holmgren, Pear A. 550
Honstrom, Andrew W. 437
Houn, Joseph SSS
Iloystrom, Peter O. 677
Husmann, John H. 691
Hutchinson, Wilbcr E. -_ 672
K
Kalis, Prank 674
Kasparek, Valentine E. 669
Keehr, Fred 683
Kempenich, John 552
KerkhofF, Edward H. 430
Kiewel, Jacob 595
Kjeldergaard, Ole O. 473
Knapp, Perry 701
Koslosky, Austin F. 400
Kroll, Rev. Peter J 670
LaFond, Edward M. 585
Lambert, James M. 622
Lamothe, Rev. Arthur 384
Landahl, Henning 353
Lee, Rudolph 519
Lee, William E. 468
Lisle, John W. 358
Lockwood, Vernie _! 589
Loegering, August 696
Logan, Frank B. 611
Logan, Harry M. 603
Lyon, Frank W. 477
Mc
McDougall, Thomas 621
McGivern, Frank C. 458
McNairy, Bartlett Y. 515
McRae, John J. 36I
I
Isaacson, Mans 600
J
Jacobs, Sherman W. 462
Janski, Rev. Joseph C. 419
Jaschke, Paul 540
Johnson, James P. 681
Johnson, John O. 467
Johnson, Ole A. S9g
Jones, John David 368
M
Malm, Olaf 443
Marlin, John D., Jr 647
Martin, J. Kenneth 416
Massy, Gerald W. 464
Metcalf, Joseph L. 363
Millspaugh, Joseph G., M. D 504
Molde, Christian 533
Monson, Matliias T. 605
Morey, William N. 693
Mueller, John P. 616
Muncy, Leslie 513
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
N
Nagl, Rt. Rev. Mgr. Edward 480
Nelson, Albert O. 446
Nelson, Frank A. 488
Nelson, George O. 439
Nelson. Hans 618
Nelson, Hoken 663
Nelson, Louis 632
Newman, J. H., D. V. S 483
Nichols, Jerry C. 549
Nutter, Hugh A. 624
Nygaard, Bernard 690
Nygaard, Ole 535
Nylen, Peter 688
O
Odor, Francis T.
Olson, Maurice -
636
593
Palm, Jones 571
Parker, George F. 576
Pedley. William 512
Pehrson, Alfred 412
Perkins, John C. 671
Perry, Tim 428
Person, Nels 617
Person, Ola 619
Peterson, John H. 406
S
Samuclson, Olof 575
Sandahl, August 573
Schallern, Victor 486
Scherer, Rev. Michael 602
Schermerhorn, George 354
Schniolke, John 566
SchuUz, George 399
Schwanke, August 638
Sears, Fred P. 463
Seely, Charles E. 466
Shaw, Hon. Edward F 367
Shutt, Sylvester J. 582
Signer, Edwin 628
Sjodin, Ole 614
Smith, Alfred P. 547
Snow, Heman D. 584
Sparrow, William 396
Stenholm, Charles 687
Stephenson, John W. 522
Stoll, Alfred M. 413
SusEczynski, Rev. Sigismond 608
Swanson, Henry 546
Swanson, Oscar E. 545
Swedback, Charles J. 409
Tanner, Leigh V. 501
Tedford, Samuel 599
Thelander, John A. 557
Thorsen, Richard 630
R
Ragan, George 680
Randall, Phil S. 493
Rekosiak, Rev. Theodore J 544
Remillard, Cyprien A. 456
Renick, Frank 665
Rennie, John 675
Rhode, Otto A. 365
Riedner, George M. 569
Roberts, Lemuel M., M. D 392
Rodman, William 643
Roese, Alfred E. 530
Rosenberg, Edward M. 484
Runquist, Carl W. 562
Rydhohn, Andrew 567
Vasaly, Peter J. 658
Vasaly, Dr. Spirit J. 474
Vasaly, Stephen C. 650
Vernon, Archibald H. 516
Vertin, John 520
Viehauser, Peter 417
W
Waage, Nels O. 442
Wait, John 541
Waldron, Herbert L. 699
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
Waller, John C 695 Wilson, George E. 391
Warnbcrg, Setli 554 Winscher, Charles 667
Wermerskirchen, Melchior 433 Wise, Elwin H. 615
Werner, Charles H. 420
Z
Wetzel, John 449
Wilson, Alfred 451
Wilson, Byron R. . 423 Zitur, Rev. Francis 459
BIOGRAPHICAL
HENNING LANDAHL.
It is by no means an easy task to describe within the limits of a brief
review the career of a man who has been eminently useful in the community
where he lives and who by exercising his own personal abilities has attained
a position of prominence in the commercial life of a county. Henning
Landahl has enjoyed a most remarkable career in the agricultural develop-
ment of Morrison county, having brought in settlers to purchase and improve
thousands of acres of land in this county. As a matter of fact all the large
and prosperous Swedish settlements in this county except that of Upsala,
which is of an earlier date, were founded by him; the county has him to
thank for a large number of its best and most progressive farmers, for
many of its most valuable farms, and he can look with pride on his accom-
plishments.
Mr. Landahl himself has large holdings in Morrison county real estate,
including several farms imder cultivation, and he owns a beautiful home in
Little Falls on the banks of the Mississippi river. He is particularly inter-
ested in horticulture and by his own success in his spacious garden has
proved that fruit, especially apples of the highest grades, can be raised with
profit in Morrison county.
Born in X'estergotland, Sweden, the son of Fredrik Landahl, a high
dignitary in the Swedish state church, who died in i8g8 after having reared
a family of eight children, Henning Landahl attended the graded schools
of his native land, was graduated from the high school and attended college.
He completed his education by si>ending four years in Germany, and after
a visit home came to America in 1887, making the trip by the way of
Canada. At that time he had an uncle who owned a ranch on the upper
Missouri river in North Dakota and after remaining with the uncle for a
couple of months, Mr. Landahl went to St. Paul, Minnesota, and obtained
a position with the A. E. Johnson & Company, as foreign correspondent;
(23)
354 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
this company was then engaged in selling land for the Northern Pacific
railroad. Mr. Landahl remained with this firm in the St. Paul office for
about a year and was in 1889 sent to Little Falls to take charge of tlieir
land oflice at that place.
The railroad lands around Little l'"alls were soon disposed of but Air.
Landahl remained, purchased different tracts of farm lands and secured
control of all the property that was owned by the Little Falls Improvement
Company, a Louisville, Kentucky, corporation, which included the most
valuable business property in the city, that located on Broadway East, and
in a few years built up a large land and real estate business.
While essentially a man of the out-of-doors, Mr. Landahl finds time
for much studying and reading and his library, containing classic as well as
modern literature in the English, German and Swedish languages and com-
prising some two thousand volumes, gives him much recreation and pleasure.
In i8go Henning Landahl was married to Amy Borchert, a native of
Germany, who has borne him two children, Olga and Carine. The former
is the wife of Harold Spink, of Duluth, Minnesota. The latter lives at
home with her parents.
GEORGE SCHERMERHORN.
One of the older citizens of Randall, Morrison county, Minnesota, and
one who stands high in the regard of his fellow citizens, is George Schermer-
liorn, a retired farmer and veteran of the Civil War.
Mr. Schermerhorn is a native of the state of New York, born at Kinder-
hook on March 2, 1833, eldest son of Francis and Rebecca (Conine)
Schermerhorn. They were the parents of four other children : Elizabeth,
deceased; William, resides in California: Siiencer, the youngest, lives in
Janesvillc, Wisconsin, and Mary. Francis Schermerhorn was born in New
York in 1809, and while still a young man became quite expert in the manu-
facture of leather articles. He had an excellent reputation as a maker of
saddles, harness and trunks and was also known as an ex])ert carriage trim-
mer. When near middle age, he had come west and located at Janesville.
Wisconsin, and at that point he enlisted as drum major of the b'ifth Regi-
ment, Wisconsin \'olunteer Infantry, at the nation's first call to arms in
1861. He was at that time a veteran of the Mexican War. h;ning .served as
drum major through that cam])aign. He served throughout the Civil War,
but did not live long after receiving his honorable discharge, his death
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 355
occurring in 1866. Mr. Schermerhorn's mother also died the same year,
and both He buried at Janesville. She also was a native of Kinderhook,
New York, born about the year 1810.
Mr. Schermerhorn passed his boyhood days in Wayne county, New
York, attending the public schools of Arcadia, and in 1853 he went to
Seneca, that state, and became apprentice to the molders' trade. About four
years later, in 1856, he came into this section of the country and at St. Paul
became employed by the government as clerk in the Dubois Indian agency.
He severed that connection within eight months, and went to Grant, Wis-
consin, where he mastered the cooper's trade and then went to Janesville,
where he worked at that trade for about three years. The latter part of 1858
he went to Davenport, Iowa, working there as a cooper for about a year,
when he went to Geneseo, Illinois, and there enlisted in Company F, Sixty-
ninth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and saw service in the South
under Gen. E. A. Thomas. In June of 1862 he was made a commissioned
officer, with the rank of second lieutenant, and later in that same year he
was discharged from his three years' enlistment in Chicago. He immediately
re-enlisted, this time at Moline, Illinois, in Company H, One Hundred and
Thirty-second Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and after that was in
some of the leading battles of the war, among them being that of Lookout
Mountain, Pittsburg Landing, and others. In 1864, at Chicago, Illinois, he
received his honorable discharge, ranking as second lieutenant.
After leaving the service, Mr. Schermerhorn located at Moline for the
next few years, following his trade of molder, and in 1872 he went to
Minneapolis, where, for the following six years, he followed his other trade
of cooper. For four years he lived at Elk River, Minnesota, where he was
in charge of large cooper shops and still later followed that same trade at
Anoka, this state. In 1891 he came to Morrison county and homesteaded a
claim on what is now section 8 of Darling township. That land when he
obtained possession of it was covered with brush and timber and he cleared
and broke up twenty-five acres of it. He had erected a comfortable house
and a log barn and other buildings and had in all done an immense amount
of work about the place. He later sold his farm with the exception of
twenty acres, ten of which he presented to his granddaughter, Bertha Mon-
son. About 1898 he came to Randall for permanent residence, purchasing a
half-acre tract with dwelling thereon, and there he and his faitliful wife are
passing their declining years in comfort and such health and vitality as are
seldom granted to people of their years.
Mrs. Schermerhorn was born on March 19,1836, and before her
356 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
marriage was Mary Ward, a native of New York. For many years she has
been a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church and stands high
in the regard of friends and neighbors. Mr. and Mrs. Schermerhom are
the parents of four children, the eldest of whom, Nettie, is deceased; George
is making his home with his parents; Frank is located at Spokane, Washing-
ton; and William lives in Little Falls, this county, where he follows his trade
of cooper.
Mr. Schermerhorn is a strong supporter of the Democratic party and in
earlier years was very active indeed within its ranks. In 1908 he was elected
mayor of Randall, serving efficiently two terms and was out of office until
1914. when he was again elected mayor, which office he tills at the present
time. About twenty years ago he was a deputy sheriff under Leon Hood
and at a time when such services called for the best of courage and diplomacy
in a man. He has from the time of his earliest residence here taken a most
active interest in the question of good roads and bridges and has been
instrumental in bringing to pass the good conditions in this respect which
now prevail within the limits of Morrison county.
Mr. Schermerhorn is a faithful member of the Knights of Pvthias.
He litis the distinction of being a charter member of the first lodge of that
order ever organized in the state of Minnesota, that being at Minneapolis,
and being active in the work from the first, he has helped to organize a
number of lodges since. By virtue of his services during the Civil War, he
is a member of Little Falls post. Grand Army of the Republic. Mr.
Schermerhorn possesses in large degree the fraternal spirit, and to this
trait is doubtless due his vital interest in anything that makes for the welfare
of the community, whether along material, social or moral lines.
PROF. MARTL\T FDG.\I>: BARNES.
It is eminently fitting and proper to determine a man's success by the
estimation in which he is held by his fellow citizens, since they understand
the scope of his daily work, know his relations in the family circle, are
familiar with his code of morals and bear witness of his conduct in all of the
relations of society. In this connection, it is not too much to sa\- that I'rof.
Martin Edgar Barnes, the sui)erintcndent of the Morrison county schools,
enjoys the confidence not only of the educational profession in this county,
but of the public generally, having made an eminent success of educational
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 357
work and having risen gradually and by sheer merit to his present position
at the head of the schools of this county.
Martin Edgar Barnes was born on a farm near Maquoketa, Jackson
county, Iowa, August 4, 1875. He is the son of Nathan and Eliza (Butters)
Barnes, the former being born in Ohio, November 25, 1838, and who died
on September 3, 1907. Educated in Ohio, Nathan Barnes went to Iowa
with his parents in 1855, and after working there for a time moved to
Illinois and worked as a farm hand until the Civil War broke out.
Nathan Barnes enlisted in 1861 in the Eighty-fifth Regiment, Illinois
Volunteer Infantry, and served until the end of the war, participating in
the battles of Nashville, Eort Henry, Fort Donelsbn and the siege of
Atlanta. He was with Sherman on his memorable march from Atlanta to
the sea, and during the war was taken prisoner but was exchanged a few
months later.
After the war, Nathan Barnes went back to Iowa and purchased a
farm near Grand Mound. He married Eliza Butters on June 3, 1875, and
they went to housekeeping on the Barnes farm, where they lived until 1882,
\vlien thev sold out and niovefl to Crawford county, Iowa. There he
owned two farms, but rented both and lived in town. In 1891 he sold out
and moved to Worthington, Minnesota, near where he owned farm lands
and where he lived retired until his death. His wife, a native of Iron Hill,
Jackson county, Iowa, who was born on July 5, 1855, is still living. She
was educated in Jackson county, Iowa, and made her home with her parents
until her marriage. She bore her husband three children, Mary Grace, Eva
Pearl and Martin Edgar, the subject of this sketch. Mary Grace is the
wife of J. T. Leahy, of Mandan, North Dakota. Eva Pearl is the wife of
Thomas G. Larson, of Lyons, Nebraska.
Martin E. Barnes attended the common schools of Vail, Iowa, and
the high school at Worthington, graduating from the latter institution with
the class of 1896. Afterward he attended the Mankata State Normal,
graduating in June, 1898. He then taught school near Worthington and one
term of school in Wadena county, at the village of Aldrich. After one term
at Round Lake, Minnesota, as principal of the village schools, Mr. Barnes
was principal of the graded school at Motley, in Morrison county. He
then taught at Royalton, Minnesota, until Christmas, 1902, when he became
superintendent of the high school at Atwater. He was next principal of the
school at Motlev for three )ears, until November, 1908, when he was elected
superintendent of the Morrison county schools. He was re-elected in 1908,
358 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
1910, njLi and 1914, the last time to a term of four years. His long
tenure in this office is a better evidence than anything which could be cited
of his efficiency, not only as an instructor, but as an educational supervisor.
The schools of Morrison county have made great progress during the past
nine years;, much of which is due to his conscientious and capable adminis-
tration.
Martin Edgar Barnes was married on August 4, 1902, to Margaret A.
Norris, a native of Kankato, Minnesota, and the daughter of Charles E.
and Sarah A. Norris. She was educated at Motley and Long Prairie,
Minnesota. She made her home with her parents until her marriage. Two
children have been born to Professor and Mrs. Barnes, Ronald Edgar and
George Douglass, who are attending school in Little Falls.
Martin Edgar Barnes is identified with the Republican party and has
been more or less active in the councils of the party ever since he attained
his majority. He is a member of the P>ee and Accepted Masons, the Order
of the Eastern Star, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Daughters
of Rebekah, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Modern
Woodmen of America. Here in Little Falls, where Professor and Mrs.
Barnes live, they have an attractive residence and both are popular in the
social and civic life of Little Falls.
JOHN \'V. LISLE.
John W. Lisle, a retired farmer of Royalton, Minnesota, is widely
known as one of the honored pioneers of Morrison county, Ohio, who. for
more than a quarter of a century, has been a valuable factor in the develop-
ment of this county and prominently identified with its various interests.
His well-directed energy in the practical affairs of life, his capable business
management and his sound judgment have demonstrated what can be accom-
plished by a man of ambitious impulses. He occupies a modern, two-story
brick residence, the construction of which he himself superintended several
years ago. From 1904 to 1911 he rented his farm, but in the latter year
sold the farm.
John W. Lisle is a native of Wayne county, Ohio, born on Mav 29,
1847. His parents, James and .Mice (Rogers) Lisle, were both natives of
Ohio, and spent all of their lives in the Buckeye state. James Lisle was
born at Cadiz, Ohio, and there received his education. At the time of his
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES^ MINNESOTA. 359
death, at the age of eighty-three years, he owned a farm of one hundred
acres in Wayne county, Ohio. In his early hfe he was a RepubHcan in
poHtics, having cast his vote for Abraham Lincoln, but in later years was
independent in political affairs.
James and Alice (Rogers) Lisle were the parents of nine children, of
whom four are living. Thomas died in 1905; Mary Jane died in 191 1;
George died in 1913; William died recently in Ohio, and one died in infancy.
Those living are Mrs. Margaret Stoffer, a resident of Mansfield, Ohio ; John
W., of whom this narrative speaks; James D., of Worcester, Ohio, and Mrs.
Harriet Stimbring, a resident of the state of Ohio.
John W. Lisle received his education in the public schools of Wayne
county, Ohio, his first teacher having been P. P. Pomerene. After leaving
school Mr. Lisle learned the carpenter's trade, but made his home with his
parents until his marriage to Miranda Moorhead, which occurred on Septem-
ber 5, 1872. During the next ten years he and his wife lived on a rented
farm in Ripley township, Wayne county, Ohio. They then moved to Minne-
sota, purchasing eighty acres of land near St. Cloud. One year later they
purchased eighty acres adjoining the original farm, and after five years sold
out and moved to Morrison county in 1888. Here they purchased two hun-
dred and eighty acres of land in Buckman township, in section 24.
This farm was well improved and had some good buildings on it.
Here Mr. Lisle raised grain, including corn and oats, keeping large herds of
cattle which grazed on the wild land in the neighborhood. He continued
cattle raising and farming until 1897, when he sold out his holdings in
Buckman township, and purchased a farm of two hundred and forty acres
adjoining the town of Royalton — part of the land being within the city
limits. A little later he erected modern buildings on this farm, and in the
construction of these buildings drew upon his knowledge as a carpenter,
being skilled in this trade. After living on this farm until 1904, he retired
from active farm life, and having purchased two city lots in Royalton, built
a modern, two-story brick house, in which he is now living. After renting
his farm for several years, in 191 1 he sold his land holdings, and is now
living in quiet retirement and well-earned ease and comfort in Royalton.
Mr. Lisle owns an automobile, which he drives.
Mr. and ^Nlrs. John W. Lisle are the parents of seven children : Charles
'C, a dealer in furniture and automobiles at Royalton; Leslie R., editor of
the Fiiigal Herald, located at Fingal, Barnes county. North Dakota; Carrie,
the wife of R. Baumgardner, a farmer of Buckman township; Lucile L.,
360 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
the wife of T. B. McCulloch, of St. Paul, .Minnesota; Florence, the wife of
\V. H. Galley, of Royalton; Mamie, the wife of H. E. Reese, of Sand Point,
Idaho, and Hazel, wife of Claude Witherell, of Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
Mr. Lisle is a Republican, but has never taken an active part in political
affairs. He was a member of the Knights of Pythias during the life of that
lodge at Royalton.
ELMER E. HALL, yi. D.
There is no class to whom greater gratitude is due from the wurld at
large than the self-sacrificing, sympathetic, noble-minded men whose life
work is ministering to the sick. There is no standard by which the work
of the physician may be measured. Their helpfulness is limited only by the
boundaries of their knowledge and skill. Among the prominent physicians
and surgeons of j\(Iorrison county, Minnesota, who have risen in their chosen
field of endeavor is Dr. Elmer E. Hall, whose knowledge of the medical
profession has won for him a leading place among the distinguished physi-
cians and surgeons of the county.
Elmer E. Hall is a native of St. Stephen, Xew Brunswick, where he
was born on December 6, 1872. He is the son of John H. and Hannah
(Smith) Hall, the former of whom was born near Calais. Maine, in 1842,
and the latter was born in Charlotte county. New Brunswick, in 1845.
Doctor Hall's father is deceased, but his mother is still living John H.
Hall was a farmer and a soldier in the Civil War. He served four years
in the Ninth Regiment Maine Volunteer Infantry, and was wounded just
before the close of the war. He was confined in ])rison for eleven davs
and then exchanged. ."Mthough his wound was serious, he rcco\ered and
lived until 1914, when he was seventy-two years old. By his marriage to
Hannah Smith, there were born four children, namely: Minnie, who mar-
ried Nathan Marsh; Elmer K., the subject of this sketch; John Sherman
and Arthur.
I'^lmer E. Hall was educated in the granmiar schools of X'ew Bruns-
wick, at the !\lain Central Institute, at Pittsfield, Maine, at Colby College
and at the iS.iltiuHjre Medical College. He graduated from the Maine Cen-
tral Institute, at Pittsfield, Maine, in 1893 <i"'' received the degree of
Bachelor of Arts from C"olby College, at Waterville, Alainc. in i8()8. He
was graduated from the Baltimore Medical College, at Baltimore. Maryland,
in 1902. receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
fh^r^
PUE.,
- A3T0-, L-^f CX
TILDEN F'-'ti.'OA IONS
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 361
In the fall of 1902, Doctor Hall settled in Little Falls, Minnesota, and
began the practice of his profession. From 1902 to 19 14 he was engaged
in general practice of medicine and surgery. In Febrnarv, 1914, he estab-
lished Hall's Hospital in Little Falls. This hospital is devoted mainlv to
the treatment of cases where surgery is required.
On September 10, 1902, after locating in Little Falls, Dr. Elmer E.
Hall was married to Mary Eva Burnham, a native of Charlotte county,
New Brunswick, born there on September 10, 1877. Mrs. Hall is the
daughter of Samuel H. and Alma (Hatch) Burnham, both of whom were
born in New Brunswick. Doctor and Mrs. Hall have had six children, five
of whom are living, as follow : Julia Allison, Byron Ellsworth, Charlotte
Elaine, Lillian, Arthur Shelton, and one child namely, Burnham, who died
in infancy. Three of the Hall children are attending school.
Dr. Elmer E. Hall is a Republican in politics. He served one term as
health officer for Little Falls and is now serving as United States pension
examiner, appointed February 5, 1914. Doctor Llall is a member of the
Masonic lodge, he is not only a member of the blue lodge, but is also a
Royal Arch Mason. He belongs to the Elks and is past exalted ruler in
that order.
JOHN J. McRAE.
In past ages the history of a country was comprised ch'efly of the
records of its war and conquest. Today history is largely a record of com-
mercial activity. Those whose names are foremost in the annals of a nation
are those who have become leaders in business circles. The conquests of the
twentieth century are those of mind over matter and the victor is he who
can most successfully establish control and operate commercial enterprises.
John T- McRae, vice-president, of the People's State Bank of Swanville, a
retired farmer and real estate owner, is one of the strong and influential
men whose lives have been an essential part of the history of Morrison
county. Tireless energy, keen perception, honesty of purpose and a genius
for devising and executing the right things are his chief characteristics.
Mr. McRae was born on March 25, 1854, in Ontario, Canada, and is
the son of Duncan B. and Anna (McRae) McRae, who were natives of
Scodand. The father was born in Ross-shire, Scotland, in 1800, and died in
1884. H'is wife died a few years later. Duncan B. McRae was educated in
Scotland and served as sheriff in the local shire until he emigrated to
362 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Canada in 1843. After operating the general store at Strathburn, Ontario,
he came to "the States" and spent two years in upper Michigan working in
the copper mines. In 1866 he came to Minnesota, where he took the con-
tract to clear off the groimds where the depot and railroad yards of Sauk
Rapids are now situated. He cleared about five acres of land comprising a
black elder swamp, grubbing out the trees. He was a year finishing the
contract and in the spring of 1867 moved to Todd county, where he and D.
Burnham settled on one hundred and sixty acres of land in what is now
Burnhamville township. They were the first settlers. The claim was cov-
ered with brush and timber and there were practically no roads, the only
passable road being the old military trail from Little Falls to Long Prairie.
Even it was in bad condition. Mr. McRae built a log house with a basswood
scoop roof and then set out to clear the claim. His first crop was one acre
of potatoes — he was compelled to pay three dollars a bushel for the seed.
At the time of his death he had about sixty-five acres of land under cultiva-
tion. Of the children born to Duncan B. and Anna McRae, five died on
the voyage across the ocean and were buried at sea. Duncan, Jr., Alexander
and Jennie were the only members of the family known to John J. Duncan
died years ago and Alexander is now located at Mesaba, Minnesota. Duncan
B. McRae, Sr., was a Republican and voted at the first election ever held in
Todd county. He was a member of the Free Church of Scotland.
John J. McRae attended school in Canada until he reached the age of
twelve years, when he came to the United States with his parents. He
attended school in Michigan for six months and then began work in the
copper mines. He received twenty-two dollars a month while working in the
wash house, washing copper. Afterwards he assisted his father in com-
pleting the contract at Sauk Rapids and then moved to Todd county with
him. He assiste<l his father in pioneer work and lived with his parents until
they passed away.
On February 5, 1891, John J. McRae was married to Elizabeth Dennin,
a native of Minnesota. She lived with her parents until her mother died.
after which she worked out until married. Mr. and Mrs. ^McRae have had
five children, Albert J., Koy R., Roger .A., .\1ma and Orin. Of these children
Albert J. is a salesman employed by the Intein.itidU.il 1 1;ir\-estcr Company,
at St. Cloud, Minnesota.
After his marriage, Mr. McRae and his wife began hiMisekee])ing in
Swanville, where, with his brother, .Mexander. as a jiartncr, he engaged in
general mercantile business. He handled cord wood and railroad ties among
other things. The itiercantilc business was continued until 1808. when Mr.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 363
McRae sold out and engaged in the farm implement business. He handled a
general line of farm machinery until May i, 1915, when he sold out to
William Trampe.
Mr. McRae owns his father's old homestead of one hundred and sixty
acres and another farm of forty acres in Todd county. He also owns
eighteen city lots in Swanville upon some of which houses have been erected.
Since May i, 1915. Mr. McRae has retired from active business life. How-
ever, he has personal charge of his business and farming interests. Mr.
McRae is vice-president of the People's State Bank.
Appointed as a Republican, he has served as postmaster of Swanville
from 1901 to 1915 and also as village recorder for twenty consecutive years.
He served as justice of the peace for twelve years and was connected with
the census enumeration in 1900.
JOSEPH L. METCALF.
Among the citizens of Morrison county, Minnesota, whose strength of
character, management and public leadership have impressed their personal-
ities upon the community, is Joseph L. Metcalf, farmer and stockman of
Little Falls township. He has borne his full share in the upbuilding and
development of Morrison county, where he has lived for several years. He
has exerted a strong influence for the good of the entire community,
especially in the construction of better roads. Mr. Metcalf is an experienced
road builder and had charge of building one of the finest macadam roads
to be found in Morrison county, and one of which he is justly proud. He is
a man of upright business principles and interested in the moral, educational
and material advancement of Little Falls township, Morrison county. Few
men have done more than he to encourage the breeding of high grade stock.
He has a herd of fifty head of Red Polled cattle, all of which are purebred
and most of which are registered. The herd includes "Nettie," No. 3 171, a
pure-bred Red Polled cow. She has averaged seven hundred and ten poimds
of butter fat each year for four successive years. The herd also includes
"Lucky Boy," No. 24115. a pure-bred, registered Red Polled bull.
Joseph L. Metcalf was born on September 25, 1875, in Jo Daviess
county, Illinois. He is the son of George and Mary (Miller) Metcalf, the
former of whom was born on December 25, 1811, in England, and who was
of Scotch-Irish descent. George Metcalf came to America with a great-
364 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
uncle, Robert Runyon, at the age of six years. He landed in Xew York
city and went from there to Buffalo, New York, where, for a number of
years, he lived with his uncle and where he was educated. Later he moved
to Illinois and engaged in breeding and raising hue stock. In fact, he was
in the stock business all of his life.
George Metcalf .served throughout the Civil War, having enlisted at the
first call for troops on April 7, 1861, in the Ninety-sixth Regiment, Illinois
Volunteer Infantry. He served three years, was discharged and re-enlisted,
serving three more years and receiving his final discharge on November 27,
1867. During the Civil War he participated in the battles of \"icksburg
and Gettysburg as well as many others and was with Sherman's army on
its famous march from Atlanta to the sea.
George Metcalf was married on June 2. 1840, to Mary Miller, a native
of Germany, who was the mother of se\'en children, John ^^l.. George F.,
Mrs. Olive Ann Harbach, Joseph L., Hilda J. Wainwright and others, who
died in infancy.
Joseph L. Metcalf was educated in the common schools of Jo Da\-iess
county, Illinois, in the high school and in the University of Iowa, where
he took a course in mechanical engineering. After graduating from the
University of Iowa, he returned to the farm and lived with his parents until
his marriage on June 7, 1898, to Sylvia Chapman.
Mrs. Joseph L. Metcalf was born in W'abasha county, Minnesota, and
is the daughter of William .\. and Roxie .Ann Chapman, the former of whom
was born in England and who came to America with his parents at the age
of two years. They settled in Jo Daviess county, Illinois, being pioneers
in that section. William .\. Chapman was educated in the schools of Jo
Daviess county and especially in the "Greenhorn" school. He lived with
his parents until his marriage and then began housekeeping in W'abasha
county, Minnesota, after many years returning to Illinois. He then sold
out in Illinois and moved to South Dakota, purchasing abont one-half section
of land. He now owns other proi)erty but is retired, his youngest son oper-
ating the farm. William A. and Roxie .A.nn Chapman have been the parents
of eight children, namely: Sylvia, who married Mr. Metcalf; .\ustin P.,
Mrs. Ktyline Morris, Ida, Enoch, William. Reuben and Mary Runice.
Mrs. Metcalf inoved to Illinois with her parents when four years old
and was educated in that state. She lived on the farm with her parents until
her marriage. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph L.
Metcalf, of whom two, Clayton Harold and George W.. died in infancv.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 365
The living children are, Vernes Orville, Willard L., Clifford Burnell, Bernice
Lois, Olive Lucille, Everett Forest and Donald Ruben.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Metcalf lived with Mr. Metcalf's
parents for two years, after which his parents moved to a nearby town, and
he rented the homestead. He engaged in raising pure-bred live stock, the
first animal he ever owned having been a registered Shorthorn cow. After
renting the homestead of two hundred and forty acres for two years, Mr.
Metcalf purchased it. He lived in Illinois for two years on the homestead
farm and then purchased two hundred and forty acres in the same locality,
known as the "Wolf Creek Bottom Stock Farm." After living on this land
for two years, he sold out and moved to Lafayette county, Wisconsin, pur-
chasing one hundred and sixty acres known as the "Spring Dale Stock Farm."
After living there for two years, he sold out once more and moved to Turner
county. South Dakota, purchasing two hundred and forty acres, known as
the "Pine Grove Stock Farm." There he raised fine stock for four years
and sold out, finally moving to Morrison county, Minnesota, where he pur-
chased eighty-one acres in Little Falls township, now known as the "Pleasant
Home Stock Farm."
Mr. Metcalf has been compelled to do a great deal of clearing. Since
moving to his farm in Morrison county, he has remodeled the house and
barn and improved the place generally, now having an up-to-date country
home. Not onlv does Mr. Metcalf own a great number of pure-bred Red
Polled cattle, but he also owns several fine horses, as well as a herd of pure-
bred and registered Duroc- Jersey hogs.
Joseph L. Metcalf is identified with the Socialist party. He is a mem-
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is the noble grand in the
local lodge.
OTTO ALBERT RHODE.
Born in Culdrum township, April i8, 1872, Otto Albert Rhode, man-
ager of the elevator owned by the Monarch Elevator Company, of Swan-
ville, for several years, is the son of William Paul and Pauline (Newman)
Rhode.
Mr. Rhode's father was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1832, and was a
timber overseer for the government until he came to America in 1857.
After landing in New York, he came to Carver county, Minnesota, and was
married a short time before the Civil War to Pauline Newman, who was
366 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
born in Berlin, Germany, in 1842, and who was educated in her native land.
She came to America in 1857 with her parents, who settled in Carver county
and there she met William P. Rhode.
Three years after the marriage of William P. and Pauline (Newman)
Rhode, the Civil War broke out and Mr. Rhode enlisted in the Fifth Regi-
ment, Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, serving in Companies B, I and J.
He was one of the thirty-six members of the regiment who survived the
ravages of death and disease during the war. After the war. he came back
to Morrison county and homesteaded a farm of one hundred and si.xty
acres in section 6. of Culdrum township. During the war, his wife had
remained at home. The Indians massacred many of the whites during the
war, but Mrs. Rhode was protected by soldiers, who arrived just before the
Indians. After coming to Morrison county and settling on their homestead
farm, Mr. and Mrs. Rhode built a log house and raised their first crop on
ground which Mr. Rhode spaded by hand. Suljsequently, he had about
forty-five acres under cultivation and in 1882, built a commodious house,
where he lived until his death in 1891. At one time he owned fortv acres
of land where Swanville is now situated, but sold the land to John A. Burkev
and N. M. Williams, who platted the town.
William P. and Pauline (Newman) Rhode were the parents of five
children, namely: Ida died early in life; Pauline married Anthony Burnell,
who is engaged in the livery business at Browns Valley, Minnesota; Matilda
is the wife of William Buelaw, who works in the implement store of William
Tramps, of Swanville; William, a resident of Elk River, Minnesota, is a
telegraph operator for the Northern Pacific railroad, a position which he
has held for the past twenty-six years; and Otto .\. The late William P.
Rhode was a Rei)ublican in ix)litics and for many years held the office of
township clerk.
Otto A. Rhode was educated in a log school house in Swanville town-
ship. 1 1 is father died when he was only nineteen years old, l)iit he took
charge of the farm and managed it for several years until he was twenty-
seven. His mother then sold the farm to John Wendt. The familv then
moved to Swanville and here Mr. Rhode conducted a saloon for two vears.
He worked at v;u"ious positions. es])ecially in the nnindliouse fur the Soo
railroad for three months. He made one trij) west but in 1904 returned to
Swanville and was elected marshal, a position which he held for seven years.
After that Mr. Rhode took charge of the elevator for the Monarch Elevator
Company, of Swan\ilk'. ;uid ^till holds this position.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 367
In 1900 Otto A. Rhode was married to Alma Dennin, a native of Mor-
rison county and the daughter of Albert Dennin. Mr. and Mrs. Rhode have
two children, Lloyd Otto and Norman William.
Mr. Rhode is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and
the Modern Woodmen of America. He is an independent voter, and is at
present a member of the city council.
HON. EDWARD F. SHAW.
The biographies of successful men are instructive as guides and incen-
tives to the young and rising generation. The examples which successful
men furnish to the world always illustrate what every young man may
accomplish. Hon. Edward F. Shaw, judge of the Morrison county probate
court, is a conspicuous example of one who has lived to good purpose and
who has achieved a large measure of success, not only in the practice of law,
the special sphere to which his talents and energies have been devoted, but
also in establishing for himself an enviable reputation as a man and citizen.
Edward F. Shaw is a native of St. Mary's county, Maryland, where he
was born on October 7, 1861. He is the son of Joseph Ford and Elizabeth
Jane (Forbes) Shaw, the former of whom was born in 1839 on "Shaw's
Retreat" in St. Mary's county, Maryland. He lived on this farm, which
came into the possession of the Shaw family in 18 14, until his death, January
3, 1913, when he was seventy-four years old. He was a farmer and school
teacher, a prominent member of the Episcopal church and a Democrat in
politics. Joseph Ford Shaw's father was a practicing physician, who also
bore the name Joseph Ford Shaw. Elizabeth Jane (Forbes) Shaw was born
on "DeLabrooke Manor," St. Mary's county, Maryland, in 184 1, and bore
her huslmnd eight children, all of whom are still living. Edward F. was
the eldest in the family. Mrs. Elizabeth Jane (Forbes) Shaw is also still
living and has twenty-two living grandchildren. She resides on "Shaw's
Retreat" in St. Mary's county, Maryland, at the present time.
Edward F. Shaw attended the common schools of Maryland and was
then graduated from the Charlotte Hall Military Academy in 1881. After-
wards he taught school for six years and then studied law in the office of
Blaki.stone & Blakistone, attorneys, of Baltimore, Maryland, for three years.'
.\dmitted to the bar in Maryland, in 1889. he began the practice in that state,
but in February, 1891, moved to St. Paul and was employed by the West
368 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Publishing Company, as assistant editor, until September 15, 1891, when he
came to Little Falls and began the practice of his profession with Donat
Trettel. In the spring of 1893, Mr. Shaw was elected as city justice, and
served seven years. He was then elected city attorney and served three
years. In 1902 he was elected judge of the probate court of Morrison
county and is serving his seventh consecutive term. Judge Shaw is an inde-
pendent Democrat.
On October 28, 1902, Edward F. Shaw was married to Clara J. Smith.
of Morrison county, who was born on May 3, 1882, and was educated in
Little Falls. She has borne her husband two children, Margaret Forbes and
Ella Jane. Mrs. Shaw is the daughter of Frank and Johanna Smith, both
of whom were natives of Germany.
Not only is Edward F. Shaw a learned and impartial judge, but he is a
distinguished man and citizen, whose career has always reflected the best
interests of his home county. His long service on the bench is a fitting
tribute to his standing in his adopted home. Judge Shaw is heavily inter-
ested in farm lands, not only in Morrison county but in the state of Mary-
land, his ancestral home.
JOHN D.W'ID JONES.
Few citizens of Todd county, Minnesota, who belong to the past genera-
tion, occupied a larger place in public affairs than the late John David Jones,
of Long rVairie. who died on August 14, 1914. During his lifetime he
held many positions of trust and responsibility and, at the time of his death,
it could be said of him that he worthily discharged these duties and fulfilled
all of the responsibilities which fall to the lot of the public-spirited and
conscientiinis man and citizen.
Born in Pennsylvania, May 31, 1849, John David Jones was a'son of
the Rev. John and Deborah (Gandcy) Jones, the furmcr of whom was a
native of Wales and the latter was born in one of the Xew England states.
Deborah Gandcy was of Uevolutionary stock. She was married to Rev.
John Jones in the h'.ast and immigrated with him in 1867 to Todd count}',
Minnesota. Prior to their removal to .Minnesota, the family had lived for
a lime in New Jerse\-, but, ujion coming to ^linncsota. the family settled at
Kandota, in Todd county, where Rev. John Jones took a homestead. The
old homestead farm was located on the banks of Fairy lake, .\fter arriving
in l\nU\ county in the fall of 1867, Rev. John Jones, wdiose health was
.KiIlN I). .KINKS
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 369
rapidly failing- before he came to this western country, continued to decline
until his death in 1872. He lived long enough, however, to leave the mark
of his influence upon the early history of this county. He established the
first Baptist church in Todd county. He often came to Long Prairie to
preach, even before the church was finished and, during this period, used the
Chandler store for services. The Jones family is, therefore, identified
with the pioneer development of Todd county.
John David Jones, who upon the death of his father, quickly assumed
his father's place as a leader in the pioneer community, was educated in the
New Jersey Classical and Scientific Institute, at I-ewisburg University, at
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and the Hightstown Institute, at Hightstown,
New Jersey. Mr. Jones was only two years old when he had moved with
his parents to New Jersey and it was in that state that he grew to manhood.
There he attended the Hightstown Institute and the Lewisburg Seminary.
He was not able to finish his education because of the poor health of his
father. .A.fter his marriage in 1871, he moved shortly with his bride to
Long I'rairie. and was elected register of deeds of the then new county of
Todd. Upon the arrival of himself and his bride in Todd county, there
were no houses available so they took up their residence in the old court
house building and lived there until a house could be erected on the lot
which has since been their home.
Mr. Jones was classed among the early settlers of Todd county. He
was the ccamty's second register of deeds and in that early day the popula-
tion was very sparse and the greater part of the county was an unbroken
wilderness, known only to the Indians and to wandering hunters. The
work of his ofifice, therefore, was light and Mr. Jones embraced the oppor-
tunity to study law during his spare time. Eventually, he completed his
studies and was admitted to the bar upon leaving the register of deeds'
office. He was subsequently elected attorney of Todd county, and upon
assuming the duties of this office his responsibilities were suddenly increased
by the famous Mead murder trial, which old settlers well remember as one
of the most important cases of its kind in the history of the county. Intense
excitement was aroused throughout this section in the case. Mead's part-
ner in crime was taken from the jail at night and lynched and, in many
ways, the trial of Mead himself was sensational. It was the county's first
murder trial and the young county attorney handled the case in a masterly
way. As a result of the prestige he gained in the management of this trial,
he leaped into sudden prominence as one of the strong lawyers of the state.
(24)
370 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Shortly afterward. Mr. Jones was elected assistant secretary of the
state senate and still later elected secretary. In these positions his oppor-
tunity for forming a state-wide ac(|uaintance was almost unc(|iialed and he
shortly became a candidate for clerk of the supreme court. He was nomin-
ateil in a close contest o\er a field of other men of state-wide prominence
and in the fall was easily elected. He was the first man from Todd county
and the first man from this part of the state to gain state-wide recognition.
-After serving as clerk of the supreme court for four years, he was sent to
the House of Representatives from his home district, and was re-elected.
His service in the house culminated in his election as speaker of that bodv,
and, after retiring from the house, he was elected to the state .Senate, where
he served four years.
Upon leaving the state Senate, .Mr. Jones retired from active ])olitics,
Init, when the new^ land office was organized at Cass Lake, he was offered
the position of registrar of the office and reluctantly accepted the position,
hut resigned after one year of sen-ice. He then returned to Long Prairie
and did not again seek nor accept public office. During the later and declin-
ing years of his life, he took only a casual interest in political matters.
The late John D. Jones was a resident of Todd county for forty-seven
years and these years were those of the countv's organization and earlv
growth. In the practice of law, he was ]5articularlv able and, at his death,
held the leading place among the lawyers of this county and district.
In 187 1 John David Jones was married to Alartha Hale, and to this
union were liorn three children, Harvey R., who died in 1805: Mrs. Fred
B. Radabaugh, who resides in Los .Angeles, California: and John T.. who
is a moN'ing picture actor and resides in California. John T. Jones served
in the .Spanish-.American War as a second lieutenant. By his marriage to
Lillian Dixon, there has lieen born one daughter, Martha Esther, who was
l)orn on April 23, 1900.
Mrs. John David Jones, who before her marriage was Martha Hale,
was born in Letcher county, Kentucky, the daughter of .\. D. and Louisa
(Young) Hale, who were natives of Lee county, Virginia. Mrs. Louisa
Hale was born on October 30, 1830, and was eighty-three years old at the
time of her death. She moved with her parents to the state of Kentucky,
where, in 1851, she was married to A. D. Hale. They lived in Kentucky
until after the war, but in 1866, moved to Todd county and settled in
Kandota townshij), where they lived many years, until their removal to
l^eynolds township in 1896. .After Mr. Hale's death, his wiilow mo\ed to
the village and made her home in Long Prairie until ioi_\ when she went
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES^ MINNESOTA. 37I
to North Dakota to make her home with her daughter, Mrs. S. J. Truax.
.She was the mother of ten chiklren, all now living. Mrs. Jones' father died
in Scott county. Virginia, in January, 1897.
Mrs. John D. Jones has one of the finest residences in Long Prairie
and, in fact, one of the most magnificent places in Todd county. Her
deceased husband, who was a man loved and admired by the people of Todd
countv, took a delight in beautifying his home and spent a great deal of
his time, especially the later years of his life, in experimenting extensively
with flowers, shrubs, trees and plants. In time his garden became one of
the most beautiful spots in this part of the county. Mrs. Jones, since her
husband's death, in the spirit of abiding affection, has kept the place in the
same good order as her husband left it. John David Jones will long be
remembered bv his part in the history of the state and county, with which
his life work was so intimately identified.
FRANK BOEHM.
Frank Boehm, a retired farmer of Pierz and one of the well-known
citizens in this part of Morrison county, was born on October 8, 185 1, in
lower Austria, the son of John and Barbara (Roller) Boehm, the latter of
whom was born in 1821 and died in 1894. Both John and Barbara ( Roller)
Boehm were natives of lower Austria. After living in their native land
until 1 86 1, the husband died and Barbara Boehm married Michael Berger.
In 1868 the entire family came to America, landing in New York city.
They moved to Fairmount, Dane county, Wisconsin, where they lived for
fourteen years. They then came to Agram township, Morrison county,
Minnesota. After farming in Agram township for about ten years, they
sold the fortv-acre farm which they owned, and moved to Pierz. Mr.
Berger has continued doing such odd jobs as have appealed to his fancy.
He is still living. The family are members of the Catholic church at Pierz.
Michael Berger is a Democrat and served for two years as supervisor of
Agram township. To Mrs. Berger have been born five children, Frank,
Elizabeth, John, Johanna and Mary.
After receiving his education in the public schools of Austria, Frank
Boehm came to America with his parents when seventeen years old. He
lived with them in Dane county, Wisconsin, for ten years and then came to
Agram township, Morrison county, in 1878. Here he purchased one hun-
2'/2 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
drecl and sixty acres of land in section 26. Frank Boehm was the first man
to arrive in this section. He was one of the two men who organized Agram
township. After arriving on May 2, 1878, he immediately built a house and
barn. After about ten years, he purchased forty acres in section 4, of Bell
View township, forty acres in section 3, of Buckman township, and forty
acres in section 28. Mr. Boehm farmed this land until 1914. when he sold
all but one hundred and twenty acres and retired. He rents the farm, hav-
ing built him a magnificent home in Pierz.
On May 3, 1881, Frank Boehm was married to Mary Leeb. the daugh-
ter of Jacob and Mary Leeb, natives of Hungary, who settled in Steams
county, Minnesota, where they engaged in farming. Mrs. Boehm was born
in Hungary, November 22, 1857, and came to the United States when about
twenty years old. Mr. and Mrs. Boehm have been the parents of six chil-
dren, Rosa, Frank, Theresa, John, Richard and an infant who is deceased.
Of these children, Rosa married Adam Billig, of St. Cloud. Frank mar-
ried Mary Thomas, of Pierz. He is a farmer and they have two children,
Herbert and Raymond. Theresa married Edward Newman, of Brainerd.
He is a merchant and they have one child, Florence. John married Alma
Hanlin. He is a barber at Pierz. They have one daughter, Avem. Richard
graduated from the normal school and is superintendent of the high school
at St. Clair.
Mr. and Mrs. Boehm and family are members of the Catholic church
at Pierz. They are also members of St. Joseph's Society. Mr. Boehm
votes the Democratic ticket.
HON. CHARLES W. BOUCK.
It is not often that true honor, public or private, comes to a man with-
out some basis in character or deed. The world may be besieged by fortune
or by ornamental or showy qualities without substantial merit and may
render to the undeserving a fortuitous and short-lived admiration, but the
honor which wise and good men value and that lives beyond the grave must
have its foundation in real worth. Not a few men live unheralded and
almost unknown bcvond the narrow limits of the city or community, wherein
their lots are cast, who yet have in them, if fortune had ojiencd to them a
wider sphere of life, the elements of character to make a statesman or public
benefactor of more than passing fame.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 373
The Hon. Charles W. Bouck, representative from Morrison county in
the Minnesota state Legislature, is a citizen whose work extends beyond
the limits of his home county. The testimony of his fellow citizens is ample
that he is a good citizen in the full sense of the term and worthy the honor
and public trust that have come to him. As the Diduth Tribune said of
him in referring to his work in the last session of the Minnesota Legislature :
"To Representative Charles W. Bouck, of Morrison county, was entrusted
all the highway legislation. No man in the house began to know as much
about the subject as 'Charley.' Only one man in the Legislature knew more
about it — Bob Dunn. Bouck put through many bills, simply on good fellow-
ship. Personally, no man in either branch of the Legislature was more
popular than he."
Charles W. Bouck was born on February 29, 1852, in Rockford, Illi-
nois, the son of John S. and Elizabeth (Elliott) Bouck, the former of whom
was born near Buffalo, New York, on a farm, in 1824, and who died in 1906
at the age of eighty-two years. The latter was born in Brighton, England,
and came to America when a small girl with her parents and settled near
Rockford, Illinois, where she lived until her marriage.
When a young man, the late John S. Bouck sailed on the lakes. After
be had finished his education, he came to Illinois and was instructor in a
seminary, where he met his wife and was married. After living a few
years at Byron, near Rockford, Illinois, Mr. and Mrs. John S. Bouck immi-
grated to a farm of two hundred and eighty acres near Independence, Iowa,
which Mr. Bouck cultivated for twelve years. At the end of that time he
sold out and purchased one hundred and sixty acres adjoining the corpora-
tion of Independence. There he lived until 1877, when he again sold out
and purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Morrison county, Minnesota,
five miles northeast of Royalton. Here he lived for a number of years.
During the later years of his life, he was a minister in the Methodist Epis-
copal church and preached in the locality where he lived. Still later he
moved to Princeton, Millelacs county, Minnesota, where he was twice elected
judge of the probate court. At the close of the last term, he was taken
ill with pleurisy of the heart and died one week later. He was a Republican
in politics, and before his election as judge, had served as a justice of the
peace for many years. He was also supervisor of the town of Royalton.
Mr. and Mrs. Bouck were members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
John S. and Elizabeth Bouck were the parents of eleven children, all of
whom erew to maturitv.
374 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Charles \V. Bouck was the first child of the first pair of twins, three
pairs having been born to his parents. Mr. Bouck was educated in the log
school, twelve miles southwest of Independence, Iowa, and one and one-half
miles from his father's home farm. He also attended the high school at
Independence, Iowa, for two years and afterward helped his father on the
farm until twenty years old, when he began working for the Welsh & Com-
pany mercantile store. He remained with them for one year and then went
to work for the state of Iowa as manager of the insane hospital farm at
Independence.
While still living at Independence, Mr. Bouck was married to Marv L.
Ball, the daughter of John and Levisa (Ellis) Ball, natives of Vermont.
Mrs. Bouck was born in Plattsburg, New York, in 1854, and went to Iowa
with her parents, settling near Independence. Mr. and Mrs. Bouck have
been the parents of one son, Albert Charles.
Three years after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Bouck moved to a
farm sixty miles east of Washington, D. C, near Cambridge, Alarykuul,
where they remained a year and a half. They then came to Royalton,
Minnesota, where Mr. Bouck was employed in a saw-mill and where he
worked in the harvest field. The next year he moved to Brainerd. where
he was employed by the Northern Pacific railroad, building bridges, section
houses, etc. He remained with this railroad until December, 1889, when
he came back to Royalton. Here he built the opera house and then pur-
chased a hardware store, which, in partnership with his son, he operated until
March. 1914, when he sold the store to his son.
During the nineties, Charles W'. Bouck was a member of the citv council
and president of the council. He has always been active in politics. In
1906, he was a candidate for the Legislature on the ReiJublican ticket and
was elected by a big majority, serving one term. He was a member of the
re-apportionment committee and chairman of the road committee. In 19 14
he was re-elected to the House for a term of two years, receiving a large
majority once more. His term will expire on December _^i, 1916. Mr.
Bouck has always taken a prominent part in the good roads movement in
Minnesota, and during his legislative career at the last .session, served as
chairman of the roads committee.
Mr. Bouck has about sixteen hundred acres of land in Morrison county.
Minnesota, a part of which is under cultivation. He owns the C. W\ Bouck
business block in Royalton and a magnificent home at his farm on the edge
of Royalton.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 375
Mr. and Mrs. Bouck and son are members of the Episcopal church.
During the past seventeen years, Mr. Bouck has been a member of the state
hardware board, a member of the state fire insurance board and director of
the Graham Mutual F"ire Insurance Company. He is a member of the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of the Maccabees and
the Knights of Pythias.
PROF. FRANK WESLEY DOBBYN.
Little Falls has no other single institution in which it takes a keener
and more active interest than its modern system of public schools of which
Prof. Frank Weslej^ Dobbyn is superintendent. He is a fine example of a
successful, self-made man, who not only deserves the confidence reposed in
him by his fellow townsmen but who is also possessed of a high order of
technical training for his life work. He has been successful as an instructor
and educator partially because of his native sympathy for educational work,
and partially because of the careful training to which he has subjected him-
self in the preparatory stages. He has won a signal measure of success in
the educational fields and is popular in Little Falls not only as the superin-
tendent of the educational system but as a man and citizen.
Frank Wesley Dobbyn is a native of Ontario, Canada, where he was
born on July 20, 1872. He is the son of William and Jane (Gosnell) Dob-
byn, the former of whom is a retired farmer still li\ing in the province of
Ontario at the age of ninety-two years. Mrs. Dobbyn died in 191 5, at the
age of seventy-six years. They had a large family of children, as follow:
Carrie, Laura, Joseph, William, Susan, Hattie, Frank Wesley and others.
Mr. Dobbyn received his elementary education in the rural schools
of the province of Ontario, Dominion of Canada. He was graduated from
the Central high school at Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1894, and completed
his education at the Winona Normal, AVinona, Minnesota, and at the Uni-
versity of Minnesota, Minneapolis. After graduating from the University
of Minnesota, Professor Dobbyns was employed as principal of a graded
school at Minneiska, Minnesota, for a period of two years. Afterwards he
was superintendent of the public schools of Atwater, Minnesota, for four
and one-half years. In 1904 he was elected superintendent of the schools of
Kandiyohi county, Minnesota, holding this office for three and one-half
years. He was next elected superintendent of the schools at Madison, Minne-
sota, and was located there for six years. In 19 12 he was elected superin-
37^ MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
tendent of the city schools of Little Falls, and has held this position ever
since.
Professor Dobbyns is a thoroughgoing school man, public-spirited and
progressive in all that he thinks and in all that he undertakes. He is fortu-
nate here in Little Falls as being the head of a splendid system of schools.
Modest and unassuming by nature, he is progressive in spirit and at the
same time conservative to the extent of considering all sides of any ques-
tion which is presented to him for consideration. He has a host of friends
among the people of Little Falls.
On August ID, 1898, Frank Wesley Dobbyn was married to Clara
McNeil, of Red Wing, Minnesota. Three children have been born to this
union. Of these children, one son, Kenneth, died at the age of eleven vears,
in Little Falls. Harold and Donald survive.
It is not a matter of surprise that Prof. Frank Wesley Dobbyn has
achieved a large measure of success. He has devoted his life to educational
work and has never permitted himself to be diverted by side issues. He
takes no considerable interest in politics. Mr. and Mrs. Dobbyn are mem-
bers of the Congregational church. Mr. Dobbyn is a trustee of the church.
SIMON P. BRICK.
Among the best-known citizens in the political and commercial life of
Little I'alls, Minnesota, is Simon P. P)rick, formerly deputy auditor of Mor-
rison county, city clerk of Little Falls, clerk of the Morrison county court,
mayor of Little Falls and postmaster at the present time. In addition to
his jxilitical activities he has also taken a most active interest in financial,
commercial and industrial enterprises. .At the i)resent time he is a stock-
holder in the Merchant's .State Bank and a stockholder and vice-president of
the First State Bank of New Pierz. He is also a stockholder in the Little
Falls Iron Works and has heavy holdings in Morrison county farm real-
estate.
Simon P. Brick is a native of the province of Ontario, Canada, having
been born near I'erlin, in Waterloo county, Ai)ril 5, 1862. He is the son
of Peter and Katherine (Kiser) Brick, the former of whom was born in
Prussia in 181 5, and the latter in Alsace-Lorraine, when it was still a ])art
of France. Peter Firick was educated in his native land and when twenty
years old came to .Vmerica. For three years he was a sailor on Lake
Sl.MHN P. r.UICIv
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 377
Michigan and then immigrated to Canada and purchased one hundred and
sixty acres of land near Berlin, in Waterloo county, Ontario, where he
farmed until 1875. In 1875 Mr. Brick removed to St. Cloud, Minnesota,
and retired. There he lived until his death in 1902, at the age of eighty-
seven years. His wife, who was born in 1818. accompanied her parents to
America. They settled in Ontario, Canada, where she met and married her
husband. She bore him twelve children : Peter, Anthony, Caroline, John,
Lena, Leo, Emila, August, Mary Ann, Simon P., Katherine and Eugene,
all of whom grew to womanhood and manhood. The late Peter Brick was
a member of the Catholic church and of the St. Joseph's Society. He was a
Democrat in politics.
Born and reared in Canada and educated in the common schools of
the province of Ontario, Mr. Brick completed his education at St. Cloud,
where for some time he was a student in the St. Cloud Business College.
After finishing his education he was for ten years employed by the Brond-
zinski Clothing Company, of St. Cloud. Li 1885 he came to Little Falls
as bookkeeper and salesman of the Brewing Company. Here he remained
for three years and then was appointed deputy county auditor, serving in
that capacity for eight years. Afterwards he was elected city clerk of Little
Falls and served five years. Upon retiring from the ofifice of city clerk, he
was engaged in the fire insurance business until 1898, when he was elected
clerk of the Morrison county court and was re-elected four difi^erent times,
serving until 1913, when he resigned to accept the postmastership of Little
Falls. Mr. Brick took the position on August i, 1913, which he still holds.
In 1888, Simon P. Brick was married to Susan Lieser, a native of St.
Cloud, where she was born on August 28, 1866. She was educated in the
public schools of St. Cloud and married in that city. Mrs. Brick has borne
her husband six children, two of whom are deceased. The li\-ing children
are Delia, who married Joseph P. Arndt ; Raymond, Otto and Florence.
Mr. Brick is an enthusiastic and prominent Democrat. In addition to
all the other positions which he has filled, he served as mayor of Little Falls
during the year 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Brick and family are members of the
German Catholic church. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus
and the Order of Foresters, as well as the Modern Woodmen of America.
He is also a member of St. Joseph's Society.
It may be said that Simon P. Brick has worthily discharged every posi-
tion of trust and responsibility which the people of Morrison county and
Little Falls have conferred upon him. He is a natural leader of men and
one who inspires his followers with enthusiasm. He has had a large part
3/8 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
in the success of his party in this county, and the various jxjhtical positions
whicli he has tilled have come to him as a reward for service well performed.
Mr. Brick has a host of friends in Morrison countv.
WILLIAM C. BROCKWAY.
Among the farmers of Bellevue township, Morrison county, Minnesota,
who have established comfortable homes in this township and surrounded
themselves with valuable personal and real property, few have accomplished
more than William C. Brockway, a native of Warsaw, Indiana, born on
November 17, 1853.
William C. Brockway is the son of Hiram and Cordelia (Warren)
Brockway. The father was born in New York state and moved to Indiana
soon after his marriage. He worked in a general store during this period,
although he was a cabinetmaker l)y trade. In the spring of 1861, he moved
to Fayette county, Iowa, where he rented a farm and lived for one year.
He then rented another farm in the same locality, where he lived for one
year and then moved to Black Hawk county, Iowa, where he lived for
another year. Upon returning to Fayette county, he rented a farm and
remained five years. In 1870 he moved to Rock county, Minnesota, and
took a claim of one hundred and sixty acres of prairie land, where he lived
until 181)9. He then sold out and moved to Morrison county, Minnesota,
where he lived with his son a year before his death in 1903 at the age of
seventy-three years. His wife was born in New York state and was the
mother of .seven children, Truman, William, Frank, Charles, Glen, Laura,
who married Frank Mitchell, and Mary, who died early in life. Herman
Brockway was identified with the Republican party.
William C. Brockway, the subject of this sketch, received his education
in the district schools of Fayette county, Iowa, but his educational advan-
tages were limited, since he found it necessary to assist his father on the
farm. In i(S76 he took a homestead in Rock county, Minnesota. During
the first summer after filing on this homestead of one hundred and sixty
acres, he and his family lived in their wagon. The next year, they purchased
enough logs to build a one-roomed log house, upon which they put a sod
roof. This house had no Hoor, but they lived in it for about ten years and
then built another house, in which they lived until 1899, when the jiarents
.sold all of their land and came to Morrison county. About this time Mr.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 3/9
Brockway purchased three hundred and twenty acres in sections 20 and 21,
of Bellevue township. The land was partly under cultivation. He later
sold eighty acres in section 20, in 1914, and now owns two hundred and
forty acres, one hundred and fifty acres of which is in cultivation and ninety
in pasture. Mr. Brockway is engaged in stock raising as well as farming.
He specializes in Poland China hogs and Aberdeen-Angus cattle.
Decemljcr 2S. 1884, William C. Brockway was married to Henrietta
Munholand, a native of Wisconsin, but who came with her parents when a
small girl to Filmore county, Minnesota, and later to Rock county. Her
education was received principally in the schools of Filmore county. Mr.
and Mrs. Brockway have been the parents of nine children, seven of whom
live at home, Josie married L. Moses; Leta is the wife of J. H. Harders;
Mary; Clare and Clara, twins; Laura, Wilna, Bessie and Lela.
Mr. Brockway has an attractive farm with substantial buildings. He
is a Republican in politics and has served as a member of the school board
for several years. While living at Battle Plain, Rock county, Minnesota,
he was town treasurer for many years. He is also a member of the school
board in Rock county. Mr. Brockway is a member of the Methodist church.
ISAAC BITEMAN.
Respect and reverence are due those brave sons of the North, who left
home and the peaceful pursuits of civil life, to give their services and their
lives, if need be, to preserve the integrity of the Union. The venerable Isaac
Biteman, retired farmer, hotel proprietor and restaurant manager, of Swan-
ville, Morrison county, Minnesota, proved his love and loyalty to the govern-
ment on the long and tiresome marches, and in all kinds of situations. He
was among the valiant defenders of the Union and of Old Glory and is
eminently entitled to the respect and reverence of young men and women,
who have been born since that memorable conflict and who today share the
fruits of his sacrifices and his services.
Isaac Biteman is a native of Miami county. Ohio, born on February
28, 1841, the son of Jacob and Susan (Krepps) Biteman, the former of
whom was born in 1804 in Pennsylvania and who, after having learned the
milling business in the Keystone state, married there. At the age of twenty-
five he settled in Ohio on eighty acres of land in Miami county, which he
first leased and later bought. It was wild timber land and it was first neces-
380 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
sary to build a road in order to reach the farm. There he built a log house,
cleared the land and lived upon it for about twenty years, when he sold out
and rented two hundred acres near the farm. Among other things, he kept
an inn for the accommodation of men driving cattle to market from Iowa,
Illinois and Indiana. Not only did he have a hotel for the men. but he had
a pasture for the cattle. It was before the days of cattle trains and cattle
dealers drove their cattle either to Cincinnati or to Pittsburgh. After living
on this farm for several years, Mr. Biteman's wife died and he moved to a
farm about five miles away on the Stillwater river, where he lived a few
years. He then quit farming and lived with his grandson, William Biteman,
until his death in 1897, at the age of ninety-three years.
Seven children were born to Jacob and Susan (Krepps) Biteman, David,
Jacob, Elisa, Susan, Isaac and two who died in infancy. The venerable Isaac
Biteman of Swanville, Morrison county, Minnesota, is the only one of these
children living.
Isaac Biteman was educated in Miami county, Ohio, having been com-
pelled to walk nearly two miles to a log school which he attended three
months in the year. He made his home with his parents until his marriage
on September 18, 1862, to Nancy Jane Martin, a native of Indiana. They
started housekeeping near Troy, Ohio, Mr. Biteman working for his father
imtil the spring of 1863.
On May 2, 1863, Isaac Biteman enlisted in the One Hundred and I'orty-
seventh Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, being assigned to Company B.
The regiment was mustered into service at Camp Dennison. near Cincinnati,
and after being drilled there for a few days was shipped to \\'ashin-;on,
D. C. In July, 1863, the regiment first met the enemy at Fort Strong, later
at Falls church and other points until September. 1863, wluii Mr. Biteman
was mustered out of service.
Upon his return home, he rented a forty-acre farm near Union City,
Indiana, where he lived for three years, and then moved to Wright county,
Minnesota, where he bought forty acres of wild timber land. .After building a
log house, he began to clear the land, his first crop being a little corn and
garden truck. .After living upon the farm for eight years, he had succeeded
in clearing thirty acres. He then sold out and moved to Swanville, Minne-
sota, purchasing forty acres of land in section 7, of Swanville township, pay-
ing eight dollars an acre for it. There he built a log house, clearing about
eight acres the first season. The timlier was chopped into cordwood. The
next spring he took a contract to dig stumps out of what is now Main street,
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 381
of Swanville. Afterward he farmed the forty acres of land for twelve
years, but when his wife died he sold out. He next took the position of
manager of the American House, a hotel owned by Eright Young. Several
years later he engaged in the restaurant business with his son, Lee. Two
or three years after that he sold out to his son, who now manages the
restaurant.
Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Biteman were the parents of five children, William,
Jacob, Lee, Lily and Rose. Of these children, William is engaged in the
railroad business and located at St. Mary's, Idaho. He is married and has
three children. Jacob is engaged in the transfer business at Spokane, Wash-
ington. He is married and has four children, Charles, Peter, John and
Francis. Lee operates a restaurant in Swanville. Rose is the wife of Will-
iam Seth, who is engaged in the transfer business at Spokane, Washington.
They have six children. May, William, Herbert, James, Ruby and Isaac.
The venerable Isaac Biteman is a member of William Rhode Post No.
191, Grand Army of the Republic, and is quartermaster of the post. He is a
Socialist in politics and has served one term as assessor of the township.
He also served as road supervisor for two terms.
WILLIAM HARVEY COX.
The leading hotel of Swanville, Morrison county, Minnesota, is the
Albion House, of which William Harvey Cox has been proprietor since
August, 1913. Mr. Cox is a man well known in Morrison county, having
been engaged in public life for many years. He has succeeded in many
different lines of endeavor, including the livery business, farming, the mer-
cantile business, the restaurant and hotel business. The Cox family have
been residents of Minnesota for more than a half century and the family
may now be regarded as one of the pioneers in this state.
William Harvey Cox was born on August 19, 1872, in Wright county,
Minnesota, and is the son of J. M. and Elvira (Baisden) Cox, the former
of whom was born near Louisa, Kentucky, January 20, 181 5, and who died
on Februarv 23, 1908. The latter was the daughter of Edward Baisden, a
native of Virginia. The late J. M. Cox made his home with his parents
until attaining young manhood, although he operated a store in Kentucky
prior to the Civil War. All of his brothers were engaged in the war and
he was rejected on account of his poor eyesight. Upon coming to Minne-
382 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
seta shortly after the Civil War, he settled on one hundred and sixty acres
of land in Wright county, near Stockholm, and thirty miles from Water-
town, from which provisions were obtained in those days. After clearing
about thirty acres of the farm, Mr. Cox became almost blind and remained
so during the last twenty-five or thirty years of his life. During the ten or
twelve years following, he lived in Missouri but then returned to Minnesota
and settled at Swanville, where he lived until his death. He was a member
of the Baptist church. Mrs. J. M. Co.x was probably born in Virginia,
where most of her father's family were reared.
Edward Baisden's first wife died in \'irginia and he later married
Nancy Copley, shortly afterward moved to Minnesota and settled in McLeod
county, near Silverlake. He homesteaded one hundred and twenty acres of
land near Silverlake and forty acres near Grand Rapids. After living in
Minnesota until old age had come upon him, he moved to Missouri and lived
with friends until his death at the age of about ninety years. J. M. and
Elvira (Baisden) Cox were the parents of seven children, Bazilla. Isabel,
Elizabeth, John, Bennett B., Edward H. and William Harvey, the subject of
this sketch. Of these children, Bazilla is the wife of J. D. Stith. a merchant
at Swanville. Isabel is the wife of E. A. Flood, of Swanville. Elizabeth
married J. W. Cofield, of Swanville. John is a resident of Colorado, where
he engages in farming. Edward H. conducts a music store in the state of
Nebraska. William H. is the subject of this sketch. Bennett B. is a
merchant at Swanville.
William II. Cox was born on .August ig, 1872. in Wright countv,
Minnesota, and after attending the elementary schools in that county, in
1883 moved with the family to Ridgeway, Missouri, where he finished his
common school education. He made his home with his parents in Missouri
until sixteen years old, when they moved to Swanville. .\ little later Will-
iam H. Cox opened a livery and sales stable in Swanxille, which he con-
ducted for six years and then sold out to Axel brothers. Afterward he
bought eighty acres of land in section 7. of Swanville township and improved
the farm by the erection of a two-story brick house and a good barn, .\fter
farming the land for four years, he rented it and nio\-cd b;ick to Swanville.
where he purchased the general store and re.staurant. Shortly after moving
to town, he sold the farm. Mr. Cox conducted the farm and general store
until the spring of IQ13. In May, 1913. he purchased the .MImou Hotel and
took possession in .August, of the same year. He conducted the general store
in connection with the hotel mitil M.'irrh 22. loi;, when he traded the store
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 383
for one hundred and sixty acres of land three miles from Stanley, North
Dakota. This land is improved and about one hundred acres of it is under
cultivation, being operated by a tenant. Wheat, oats, barley and flax are
produced on the farm. ]\Ir. Cox now conducts the Albion Hotel, which is
the leading hostelry of Swanville.
On January i, 1902, William Harvey Cox was married to Essie Ervin,
a native of Missouri, the daughter of Jacob and Sarah Ervin. the former
of whom died years ago and the latter now lives in Spokane, Washington.
Mrs. Cox made her home with her parents until her marriage but taught
several terms of school, including one term at Swanville, where she became
acquainted with Mr. Cox. To them have been born two children, Willard
Harold and Hazel Fern.
Elected as a Democrat, William Harvey Cox has served as a member
of the village council for one term and as clerk of the school board for three
years. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Eellows, and has
passed all the chairs in this order. He is also a member of the Modern
Woodmen of America.
CHARLES E. GRAVEL.
Charles E. Gravel is a prosperous young business man of Pierz, Morri-
son county, Minnesota, and since 1905 has been the general manager of the
Rich Prairie Milling Company. Mr. Gravel himself superintended the con-
struction of this mill and at its completion took active charge of the manage-
ment of the business. He is a native of this state, and a man whose life is
intimately associated with the development of Morrison county.
Charles E. Gravel was born on August 4, 1876, at Little Falls, Minne-
sota, the son of Charles Gravel, Sr., now a resident of Onamia, Millelacs
county, Minnesota. His father is a native of the Dominion of Canada,
born on December 13, 1844. After leaving Canada, at the age of twenty-
one year. Charles Gravel, Sr., settled in Wisconsin, but later moved to the
state of Minnesota, and for more than a half century has been actively
identified with the commercial development of the great Northwest, espe-
cially with the lumber and flour interests.
Charles E. Gravel was only fifteen years okl when he left school and
engaged in the feed business with his father at Little Falls. He had pre-
viously attended the public schools at Gravelville and at Little Falls. After
conducting a business in Little Falls for several years Mr. Gravel engaged
384 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
in the grocery business until 1905. when, in partnership with his father, the
mill of the Rich Prairie Milhng Company, of Pierz, was constructed under
his supervision and management. This mill has a capacity of one hundred
and twenty-five barrels of flour daily. Not only is Charles E. Gravel a
practical miller but he is also an expert judge of grain, and has been very
successful as the manager of the I'ierz mill. He is also interested in farm
land in Pierz and Granite townships, this county, and at the present time
has large holdings which are in process of development.
Mr. Gravel's wife, before her marriage, was Margaret Blake, a native
of Pierz, whose parents removed to Little Falls when she was a small girl,
where she lived until her marriage to Mr. Gravel, which occurred on Novem-
ber 20, 1900. To this union have been born seven children, Peter Charles,
Stephen J., Mercedes, Lawrence, Lucile, Edmund and Lorraine.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Gravel are earnest and devout members of the
Catholic church. Mr. Gravel is a Democrat, having served as a member
of the council for one year, and as village president for three years. He
became a candidate on the Democratic ticket in 1912 for the Legislature,
but was defeated with the remainder of the ticket. Here in Pierz he is
regarded as one of the successful and substantial business men of the town,
a man who is in every sense worthy to take up the work so successfully
carried on bv his worthv father.
REV. .ARTHUR LAMOTHE.
One of the prominent clergymen of Morrison county, Minnesota, who
has built up a congregation in the b'rench Catholic parish at Litde
Falls, Minnesota, is one of the learned churchmen in this section of Minne-
sota, and one who is interested in all public movements and enterprises.
Since 1889 he has devoted his attention, his energ}' and his talents exclusively
to the I'rcncb Catholic congregation at Little Falls and in a little more than
twenty years has built up a flourishing church, having at the outset of his
career in this city erected the splendid edifice of the b'rench Catholic parish.
Although a learned churchman and a public-spirited citizen, he is modest
and unassuming in .ill of the relations of life, temi)oral and spiritual.
l'\-ither I^imothe is a native of Marievillc. Quebec, born in 1862. He
is the son of .\medce and .\delaidc (Menard) Lamoihe. iMlucated in the
elementary schools at Marieville, Father Lamothc attended Monnoir Col-
REV. ARTHi;it LAMOTIIK
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 385
lege, at Marieville, from 1S74 to 1882, pursuing a classical course and a
course in philosophy. From 1882 for four years he was a student at St.
John's University, in Minnesota, where he studied theology and from which
he was graduated in 1886. Ordained to the holy priesthood on June 14, 1886,
by Bishop Seidenbusch in the cathedral of St. Cloud, Minnesota, Father
Lamothe then attended the University of Innsbruck, Austria, studying
theology from 1886 to 1888. In 1888 he returned to Minnesota and took
charge of the German Catholic church at Little Falls. The following year
he was assigned to the pastorate of the French Catholic church at Little
Falls and for ten years had charge of the church at Belle Prairie, Minne-
sota. In 1892 he built the church now used by the French Catholic congre-
gation of Little Falls.
In the early years of Father Lamothe's pastorate, the French congrega-
tion of Little Falls was small in numbers but since it has grown consider-
ablv, the congregation now numbering one hundred and seventy-five families.
OTTO H. HITZEMANN.
Born three miles east of Long Prairie, Minnesota, Otto H. Hitzemann,
the cashier of the People's State Bank of Swanville, Morrison county, Minne-
sota, is of German descent, his father, Rev. W. F. Hitzemann. having been
born on July 17, 1848, at Schaumburg, Lippe, Germany. His mother was
born at Mt. Pulaski, Illinois, and lived there with her parents until her mar-
riage.
The Rev. W. F. Hitzemann received a common school education in the
German public schools, and, after coming to the United States when a lad
with his parents, settled with them on one hundred and sixty acres of home-
stead land near Red Bud, Illinois. When eighteen years old, he entered
the German Lutheran Seminary at Springfield, Illinois, and prepared him-
self for the ministry, taking a complete course, including philosophy and
theology. After graduating, he came to Minnesota and took charge of a
church three miles east of Long Prairie. Shortly afterwards he was mar-
ried to Christina Henn, whom he had known in Illinois. After having charge
of the church three miles east of Long Prairie for four years, he moved to
Long Prairie and had charge of the church there for twenty-nine years. He
kept enlarging his field and subsequently was pastor of churches at Brower-
(25)
386 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
ville, Clarissa, Sauk Centre, Melrose and West Union, besides the church
at Long Prairie. While at Long Prairie he built a handsome church, which
is now one of the best churches in the town. After living in Long Prairie
for thirty years, he was called to the pastorate of the church of Lewiston,
Minnesota, where he preached for about one year, until his death on March
20, 907.
The Rev. W. F. and Christina (Henn) Hitzemann had ten children, of
whom Lydia, the eldest, died in infancy. The others were William C,
Albert E.. Otto H., Walter, Htdda, Othilie, Lena, Armen and Edwin. Of
these children, William C. is a Lutheran minister at Hillsboro, North Dakota.
He married Louise Von Niebelschuetz. antl they have two children, Harold
and Deloris. Albert E., formerly a German Lutheran school teacher at St.
Paul, is now connected with Joesting & Company, a wholesale hotel supply
house. He married Clara Holtman, and they have one son, Roland. Walter
lives at Hettinger, North Dakota, where he operates a dray and transfer
line. He also owns one hundred and sixty acres of farm land near Hettinger.
He married Hattie Redfield, and they have one son, Eldred. Hulda lives
with her mother at St. Paul, Minnesota. Othilie is the wife of Henry
Woeltge, a cigarmaker of St. Paul for Hart & Murphy. Lena li\-es with
her mother at St. Paul. Armen is foreman of the Auto Engine \Vorks at
Midway, A'linnesota. He married P^niina Kloss. Edwin lives with his
mother and works with his brother .-\rmen.
Otto H. Hitzemann, born on December i, 1884, received his elementary
education in the schools at Long Prairie. He also attended high school at
Long Prairie for one year, then was graduated from the Bouton Business
College at Sauk Centre. He also attended the Caton Business College at
Minnca]K)lis. During his spare time, he worked for George W. Maynard
in a general merchandise store at Long Prairie, .\fter graduating from
business college at Minneapolis, Mr. Hitzemann went to North Dakota, mak-
ing the journey overland in a hay wagon, .\fter arriving in North Dakota
he received word to return to Cass Lake and to wnrk for Gardner «S: Beckett,
proprietors of a general dry goods store. He remained at Cass Lake for
seven months and then worked for C. I". Miller, at Long Prairie, in tlie
implement and grocery Inisiness. Mr. Hitzemann had charge not onlv of
the books but also of the .salesmen for Mr. Miller for one and one-half vears.
From Long Prairie, Mr. Hitzemann came to Swan\ille on Februar\- 5. 1906,
to take charge of the People's Bank, although he had never before worked in
a bank. He took complete charge of the institution as assistant cashier.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 387
The bank was incorporated on June 15, 1908, at which time he was elected
cashier, a position he now holds. Mr. Hitzemann is interested in the Utahna
Development Company, of St. Louis, Missouri. This company manufac-
tures electric washers. He also owns a handsome residence at Swanville.
Mr. Hitzemann's wife before her marriage was Sophia Schuette, who
was born at Red Bud, Illinois, on July 15, 1884, and who was educated at
Red Bud. Mrs. Hitzemann made her home with her parents until her mar-
riage. She has borne her husband one son, Arthur.
Mr. and Mrs. Hitzemann are members of the Lutheran church. Mr.
Hitzemann is secretary of the official board. He served as village recorder
for one year and is now treasurer of the Commercial Club and of the fire
department.
PHILIP A. HARTMANN.
P. A. Hartmann is not only one of the most extensive merchants of
Pierz, Morrison county, Minnesota, but he is one of the most favorably
known and representative citizens of Pierz township. By indomitable enter-
prise and progressive methods, he has been able to contribute in a material
way to the advancement of the locality with which his fortunes have been
cast. He has contributed liberally to public enterprises and, at the present
time, probably deserves to rank as the first citizen of Pierz. He is a man
of great energy, sound judgment and honesty of purpose and is well deserv-
ing of the confidence bestowed upon him by his fellow citizens.
Philip A. Hartmann is a native of Scott county, Minnesota, born on
November 10, 1869. His parents, Valentine and Rosalia (Dealingler) Hart-
mann, were both born in Germany, the former in Hesse-Darmstadt, May 9,
1835. and the latter on August 13, 1835. Valentine Hartmann came to
America when a young man with his parents. The family settled at Marys-
town, in Scott county, Minnesota. The father later took up a claim in
Benedict and there he worked diligently in clearing the land for cultivation.
He married Rosalia Dealinger on September 4, 1858, and the ceremony was
performed by Father Benedict, at Shakopee, Minnesota. Valentine Hart-
mann lived in Benedict until his death, April 29, 191 5, four days after the
death of his wife. Her parents had come to America when she was eighteen
vears old. They lived in St. Louis a year or two and then moved to
Shakopee. At the time of their death, Valentine and Rosalia Hartmann had
four sons and four daughters, sixty grandchildren and twent\'-five great-
3^8 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
grandchildren. In 1908 they had celebrated their golden wedding anniver-
sary. The children born to Valentine and Rosalia Hartmann were: Mrs.
Gregor Wermerskirchen, Mrs. John Seifert, Mrs. Melchior W'ermerskirchen,
Mrs. John Bruner. Anton, Valentine M., Philip A. and Joseph B.
Philip A. Hartmann, the subject of this sketch, attended the common
schools of Scott county, Minnesota, and later at Teutopolis College for one
year at Teutopolis, Illinois. Later he was a student at St. John's School
for one year and, upon leaving St. John's School went back to Scott county
and assisted his father on the farm for five years. He then went to St. Louis
and was employed in a rolling-mill for two years, after which he went back
home and worked on the farm until 1894. During the last two years he
rented the farm, comprising one hundred and twenty acres. In 1894 he went
to Jordan, Minnesota, and worked in a hardware store for one year owned
by Gunie Engeler. In the spring of 1895 Mr. Hartmann moved to Pierz,
Minnesota and, in partnership with Jacob Neisinsas, started a hardware,
harness and grocery business in what is known as the south end of Pierz.
After a year they dissolved partnership and Mr. Hartmann established a
grocery and hardware store in the north end of Pierz. After operating the
business for three years, he bought a building from P. H. Berg and moved
into it. About this time his father-in-law, Nicholas Hennen, was appointed
postmaster and moved the postoffice into Mr. Hartmann's store, appointing
him assistant postmaster. He held the office until 19 14. /
Shortly after purchasing the Berg building, Mr. Hartmann took his
brother, J. B. Hartmann, into partnership with him. At that time the store
occupied a room twenty-two by ninety-seven feet. After the partnership
had continued for three years, P. A. Hartmann bought out the interest of
his brother and enlarged the building to thirty-six by one hundred and ten
feet, enlarging the stock accordingly. The business kept growing and in
1913, when Mr. Hartmann added an addition, thirty-six bv eightv feet with
a full basement, in the rear. The sture is now one hundred ami ninctv feet
deep. He has kept adding to the stock until he now has a verv complete line
of merchandise. He is agent for the John Deere and Deering harvesting
machinery and has a line of clothing, shoes, hardware, groceries, dry-goods,
lime, salt, cement, etc. Mr. Hartmann carries alunit twentv-five tlicuis.-nul
dollars' worth of stock and in i()i3 did business amounting to sixtv-hve
thousand dollars. He has an automobile delivery and owns a seven-passen-
ger \'elie ])leasure car. P. A. iiartiuann is well known in Pierz township
as a booster for good roads and as a i)ublic-si>irited citizen.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 389
On June 2t,, 1896, P. A. Hartmann was married to Margaret Hennen, a
native of Spring Hill, Minnesota, born on July 17, 1875. She was educated
at Pierz. Her mother having died when she was sixteen years old, she kept
house for her father until her marriage. To this marriage there were born
four children, Alexander, Herbert, Reinhart and Leo. Mrs. Hartmann died
on March 19, 1904, and in November of the same year Mr. Hartmann was
married to Elizabeth Hennen, a sister of his first wife. To this second mar-
riage there have been born six children, Alphonse, Dolores, Clarence, Lean-
der, Margaret, and Roman, who died at the age of two years.
Mr. and Mrs. Hartmann are members of the Catholic church. Mr.
Hartmann is a charter member of the Pierz Corps No. 710, of the Foresters,
and for ten years was deputy high chief ranger. He is now the chief
ranger. He is also a member of the St. Joseph Catholic Society and vice-
president of the Pierz German State Bank. Mr. Hartmann contributed
considerable money toward the building of St. Joseph's church, and in 1914
donated five hundred dollars toward the construction of St. Joseph's school,
which is just now completed.
JAMES W. FALK.
Great achievements always excite admiration. Men who have accom-
plished large things are the men the world delights to honor. Ours is an
age representing the most wonderful progress, especially in commercial or
material activity and the man of initiative is the one who forges to the front
in the industrial, commercial and financial world. Among the well-known
financiers of Morrison county, Minnesota, is James W. Falk, the president
of the Farmers State Bank, of Upsala, a man who is interested in other
banks and who is a large landowner in this section of the state. He is in
the fullest sense of the term a progressive, virile, self-made man, thoroughly
in harmony with the spirit of the country of his adoption and in all of his
acts he displays an aptitude for successful management and executive ability.
James W. Falk was born at Gottenborg, Sweden, October 29, 1859, the
son of William and Mary (Anderson) Falk, both of whom were natives of
Sweden. William Falk was of German descent and a sheriff in the district
where he lived. He died in January, 1907, at the age of sixty-four years.
His wife, who was born in Sweden, lived to be eighty-four years old, passing
39° MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
away in 1913. She was the mother of six children, of whom all grew to
maturity. Christina and Albert, the third and fourth born, are deceased, also
John Patrick, the youngest. The living children arc, Jonathan, James W.,
and Edward.
A student in the public schools of his native land until eighteen years
of age, James W. Falk then came to the United States. After landing in
New York city, he traveled on to St. Paul, where he remained with an uncle.
in the meantime mastering the English language. .Afterwards, in partner-
ship with another man. he was engaged in railroad building under contract
and was employed by the Northwestern and the Great Northern for about
four years. Mr. Falk then moved to Eveleth. in St. Louis countv. where
he opened a mercantile establishment, known throughout that section of
the country as the "General Store." .\fter managing this store until 191 1,
Mr. Falk sold out. In the meantime, liowcver, in 1907, associated with
George W. Whittman, Doctor Harwood, Max Shapire and others, Mr. Vulk
incorporated the First National Bank, of Eveleth, with a capital stock of
twenty-five thousand dollars, since increased to fifty thousand dollars. For
a number of years, Mr. Falk was a director and a member of the examining
committee. He is still a director and a .stockholder of the bank. He is
also a stockholder in the Bank of Grass Range, Fergus countv. Montana.
In 191 1 Mr. Falk sold his mercantile establishment at Eveleth and then
started a saw-mill in Itasca, twelve miles north of Deer river. The mill
is still in operation and is engaged in the manufacture of hardwood lumber.
On May 11, 1914, Mr. Falk came to Upsala and organized the Farmers
State Bank of Upsala, with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars and a
surplus of two thousand. Other men interested in the bank are T. S. and .\.
M. Borgstrom, Peter ^Merhau.ser and Gus Lindgren. Mr. V:\\k is a large
landowner, especially in St. Louis and Itasca counties.
In 1897 James W. Falk was married to .Agusta John.son. a native of
Sweden, who came to the United States with her parents when about ten
years old. They settled in Pennsylvania, and about 1894 moved to Vir-
ginia, Minnesota, where, three years later, Mr. and Mrs. Falk were married.
To them have been born three children. Hazel, Alice and Helen, all of whom
live at home and attend school.
Mr. Falk considers him.self an independent Republican and has served
two terms as a memlier of the city council, both at \'irginia and at Eveleth.
He was a member of the first town council elected at Virginia. Mr. E.ilk
is a member of the Free and .Accepted Masons, including both the blue lodge
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 39I
and the chapter. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The Falk family are members of the
Lutheran church.
GEORGE E. WILSON.
It is the honorable reputation of the man of affairs more than any other
consideration which gives character and stability to a community. While
advancing his personal and individual interests, George E. Wilson, a well
known real estate and insurance man of Royalton, Minnesota, has never lost
sight of his obligations to the community in general, where for many years
he has held a high place in popular confidence and esteem. Since abandoning
the lumber business Mr. Wilson has built up a lucrative trade in the real
estate and fire insurance business, and besides two farms comprising two
hi-ndred and forty acres in Morrison county which he owns, he also owns
other real estate in this county.
George E. Wilson is a native of the Dominion of Canada, his birth
having occurred there on July ii, i860. His parents, Isaac P. and Eliza E.
Wilson, were both natives of Vermont, who. after their marriage immigrated
first to New York and later to Canada. In 1883 they removed to Minne-
apolis, Minnesota. Isaac E. Wilson was a lumber dealer in the latter city
for several years, but subsequently moved to Royalton, and established a
saw-mill which he operated for several years. He died a few years ago at
the advanced age of eighty-seven years. George E. Wilson is one of four
children born to his parents, the others being as follow: Thomas W.. living
in California; Albert C, a resident of Royalton, Minnesota; and Mrs. E. A.
Blackwood, of Royalton.
George E. \'Vilson received his education in the schools of Montreal,
graduating from the high schools of that city. After leaving school he took
a position with a wholesale dry-goods firm of Montreal, where he remained
four or five years. With his parents he came to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and
there worked in a dry-goods store for two years, when the family removed
to Royalton. About 1887 Mr. Wilson engaged in the lumber business with
his father and brother, the three operating a saw-mill for many years, or
until the pine lumber in this section of the state was exhausted.
Mr. Wilson has since built up a prosperous business in real estate and
fire insurance. He is the agent for the British American Assurance Com-
pany, the Northern Insurance Company and the United States Fidelity and
&
39- MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Guaranty Company, in Royalton. Both of Mr. \Vilson"s farms are under
cultivation and operated by responsible tenants.
George E. Wilson is a member of the Episcopal church and identified
with the Republican party in his political beliefs. He served as a member
of the Royalton city council for several years, and is now a member of the
board of education. Mr. Wilson is a member of the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks.
LEMUEL M. ROBERTS. M. D.
Dr. Lemuel M. Roberts was trained in the best universities of this
country, and later pursued his medical training in the best universities of
Europe. It is a source of pride among his friends that he enjoys a large
volume of practice, to which he is entitled by right of careful preparation
and natural sympathy for the work he does.
Lemuel AL Roberts is a native of Ohio, bom in Glendale, a
suburb of Cincinnati, on February 23, 1862, the son of Britton and Hester
( Martin ) Roberts. Britton Roberts was born near Wheeling, ^'irginia, on
October 31, 1807. and in 1832 immigrated to Cincinnati. Ohiix where he
was engaged in the lumber and coal business during his active life. After
his retirement he continued to make his home in Cincinnati, living there
until 1885. when he died at the age of seventy-eight years. l\e was a
Republican.
Mrs. Hester (Martin) Roberts was born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
in 1827, and removed with her parents to Cincinnati, where she was mar-
ried. .After living to be seventy-seven years old, she passed away in 1894.
She was the mother of nine children, of whom Doctor Roberts is the seventh.
Lemuel M. Roberts attended the common schools of Cincinnati and
then spent three years at Urbana University, Urbana, Ohio, taking a course
preparatory to entering the University of Cincinnati. .After .spending one
year at the University of Cincinnati, he entered the L^nivcrsitv of Michigan
Homeopathic Medical College at Ann .A.rlx)r. but completed his medical
studies at the Hahnemann Medical College, of Philadelphia, graduating
from this last institution in 1883. Soon after he was apjiointed to a posi-
tion in the gm-frnment service, as physician and surgeon at Oua])aw agencv,
Oklahoma, which was then a part of Indian Territory. In 1885 Doctor
Roberts came to Brainerd, Minnesota, and practiced medicine there for five
years. In 1890 he removed to Little Falls, and practiced medicine until
LEMUEL M. KOBLUTS. M. D.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 393
1894, when he made a voyage to Europe, taking a post-graduate course in
London, Berhn and Vienna. He returned to Little Falls and resumed his
practice, but has since twice taken post-graduate work in Chicago.
In 18S7 Lemuel M. Roberts was married to Helen Gertrude Cooley, a
native of Ohio, who was born in the Buckeye state on August 5, 1866. She
bore her husband two children, Loren Britton, of jNIinneapolis, and Clifton
Shears, of Fessenden. North Dakota. Mrs. Helen Gertrude (Cooley) Rob-
erts died in 1896 at the age of thirty years, and in 1904, Doctor Roberts
was married, secondly, to Ida M. Deppman, who was born in Hamburg,
Germany, and who came to America with her parents. They settled in
Wisconsin, but later removed to Minneapolis, where she was married. They
have one adopted son, Herman D., who resides with his foster parents.
Doctor Roberts is a member of the Episcopal church. He is a member
of the Masonic lodge, including the chapter. He belongs also to the Elks,
the Alaccabees, and other fraternal orders. Doctor Roberts is a Republican.
He belongs to the following Medical Societies: The American Medical
Association. Minnesota State Medical Association, of which latter he had
the distinguished honor of being elected first vice-president for 1915; also
a member of the Upper Mississippi Medical Society.
BENNETT B. COX.
Bennett B. Cox, a prosperous merchant of Swanville, Morrison
county, Minnesota, is a native of Wright county, Minnesota, born on May
7, 1867. He is the son of J. M. and Elvira (Baisden) Cox, the former of
whom was born near Louisa. Kentucky, and who died on February 23,
1908. Elvira Baisden was the daughter of Edward Baisden and wife,
natives of Virginia.
y. M. Cox was educated in Kentucky and lived at home with his par-
ents until a young man. For several years before the Civil War he operated
a general store in Kentucky. His brothers all served in the army, but his
eyes were in bad condition and he was not accepted for service. Afterwards
he came to Minnesota and setled on one hundred and si.xty acres of land in
Wright countv, in Stockholm township. There were no roads in the county
and it was necessary to carry provisions on horseback from Watertown,
Minnesota, thirty miles away. He built a log house on his homestead farm
and cleared about thirtv acres in a few years. He and his wife had taken
394 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Ben F. Farries to raise while the family lived in Kentucky and he became
a great help in the pioneer work in Wright county. Later his own sons were
old enough and also helped their father on the farm. After living in Minne-
sota from 1867 until 1882, the parents removed to Missouri and lived there
ten or eleven years, after which they removed to Swanville, Minnesota, where
he lived until his death. His wife is still living in Swanville.
Edward Baisden, the father of Mrs. J. M. Cox, reared most of his
family in Virginia. His first wife died in Virginia and he was later mar-
ried to Nancy Copley. Shortly afterwards, he removed to McLeod county,
Minnesota, settling on one hundred and twenty acres of land near Silverlake.
Later he took forty acres of land near Grand Rapids, which is now in the
iron belt. He built a log house on the homestead and lived upon the farm
until old age, when his health broke down. He then went to ^Missouri and
lived with friends until about ninety years old. His wife died a few years
previously. By his first wife there were born the following children: Xancy,
Elvira, Lovica, John, Bennett, Elias, and Edward Harrison.
Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Cox had seven children, namely : Bazilla, Isabel,
Elizabeth, John, Bennett B., Edward H. and William H. Bazilla is the
wife of J. D. Stith, a merchant of Swanville, Minnesota. Isabel is the wife
of E. A. h'lood, of Swanville, Minnesota. Elizabeth is the wife of J. W.
Cofield, of Swanville, Minnesota. John is a farmer in Colorado. Edward
H. has a music store in Nebraska. William H. married Essie Ervin and
operates the hotel in Swanville.
Bennett B. Cox was educated in the common schools of Wright county.
He lived at home with his parents, heli)ing his father on the farm until
twenty-one \ears old. when he began working for J. D. Smith, a merchant
of Swanville. .\fter working for Mr. Stith for three or four years, Mr.
Cox tb.en started in business for himself in 1891. He began with a con-
fectionery store, to which he added other lines from time to time uiuil igoi,
wluu lie built a two-story business house. He moxed into it and enlarged
his slock. He now has a complete line of general merchandise and deals in
farm produce.
On December 6, 1901, Bennett B. Cox was married to Pearl W. Jack-
son, a native of Lake City, Minnesota, born on .\pril 10. 1881. Mrs. Cox
attended school at Lake City until her mother moved to Swanville. She
later attended school here. Still later the family removed to Syracuse.
New York, where Mrs. Cox lived until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Cox
have had one daughter, Mae, who is a student in the Swanville school.
Bennett B. Cox was the first recorder of the village of Swanville after
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 395
the village was incorporated. Since then he has held various town offices.
He was mayor for a number of years and township treasurer. In fact Mr.
Cox has held some town office almost all the time since the incorporation of
the village. He is a very well-known and highly-respected citizen in this
section of Morrison county.
EDWARD AUGUSTUS FLOOD.
Edward Augustus Flood, a real estate and piano dealer, of Swanville,
Morrison county, Minnesota, is a native of Watertown, born on August 2,
1861, the son of I. A. C. and Ellen J. (Dow) Flood, who were natives of
Calais, Maine. The father was educated at Calais and came to Minnesota
when about twenty-four years old. He started a saw-mill on the east side of
Minneapolis, after immigrating to the state of Minnesota, in partnership
with J. Dow. He was married while living in Minneapolis, and one year
later moved to Watertown where he engaged in the general mercantile busi-
ness, purchasing land and erecting the building occupied by his store. From
time to time he enlarged the stock, remaining in business for a period of
about thirty years. Aside from general merchandise, he also dealt in gin-
seng, which he sent to China. During practically all of the period of his
residence at Watertown he was postmaster. He retired from business ten
years before his death. His wife was educated in the state of Maine and
lived there with her parents until their removal to Minnesota when she was
a young woman. Shortly after moving to Minnesota she was married to
Mr. Flood. To them were born six children, of whom one died in infancy.
Those' who survived were Fred, Edward A., Addie, Nellie and Bert.
Educated in the public schools at Watertown, Wisconsin, Edward A.
Flood worked in the store for his father until fifteen years old, when he went
to work for C. F. Peters, in a general store in Little Falls, Minnesota. After
being employed by Mr. Peters for about eight years, in 1884 Mr. Flood came
to Swanville, erected a building and established a hardware store. After
conducting this store for two years, he sold out and engaged in the farm
implement business. Mr. Flood handled a general line of farm implements.
for eight years, when he sold out and went to work for Rhodes & Staples,
real estate dealers. He looked after their collections and was also employed
as a salesman of farm lands. After working for this firm for eight years,
Mr. Flood engaged once more in the general mercantile business until 1909.
39^ MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Two years later lie purchased a harness and shoe store in Swanville, which
he operated until 1914, when he again sold out. On January i, 1915, Mr.
Flood engaged in the real estate business. At this time he also secured the
agency for Kimball pianos. He owns several village lots in Swanville and
also a number of city lots in Brainerd, Minnesota.
Mr. Flood's wife, before her marriage, was Isabel Co.x. the daughter
of J. M. and Elvira Co.x, the former of whom was born in Kentuckv. and
who died on February 23, 1908, and the latter was the daughter of Edward
Baisden, a native of \'irignia. J. M. Cox immigrated to 2ilinnesota about
the time of the Civil War, taking up a homestead in Wright county, near
Stockholm. During the last years of his life, he was almost blind. From
1882 until about 1892, he was a resident of the state of Missouri and then
returned to Swanville, where he lived until his death. J. AI. Cox was a
Democrat and a member of the Baptist church. B\- his marriage to Elvira
Baisden, there were born seven children, Bazilla, Isabel, Elizabeth. John,
Bennett B., Edward H. and William H. Bazilla married J. D. Stith, a mer-
chant of Swanville. Elizabeth married J. W. Cofield, of Swanville. lohn
is a farmer in the state of Colorado. Edward H. operates a music store in
Nebraska. William H. is a hotel keeper in Swanville. Bennett B. is a
merchant in Swanville.
Mr. and Mrs. Flood have no children. Mr. Flood is a Republican and
served ten years as justice of the peace. He also served as township assessor
for two vears.
WILLI.AM SPARROW.
Although nearly sixty-eight years old. Wliliam Sparrow is still a keen
and active business man of Royalton, Morrison countv. Minnesota. He is a
man who has made a remarkable success in the meat business, having been
a resident of this county for about thirty-five years. Aside from a splendid
home in Royalton, he owns several other pieces of city ]>ro])ertv, an up-town
business block and has extensive real estate holdings in Soutli Dakota.
\\'il]iani .Sparrow is a native of Stratford, Ontario, born on September
I, 1847. IJ*^ \\''^ educated in Paisley, Bruce county, Ontario, but came to the
United States when still a young boy. He learned the blacksmith trade in
a shop at Hancock, Michigan, where be remained for three vears. He then
went to Manpiette county, Michigan, where he worked in a blacksmith shop
at one of the now famous Calumet copper mines. In fact, Mr. Sparrow
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 397
was one of the first men employed in the Calumet mines, having helped
open it up between 1865 and 1867.
In 1867 William .Sparrow came to Minnesota and for a time lived with
his brother-indaw, James McCullough, who occupied a homestead near
Alberta, Minnesota. Later, Mr. Sparrow took a homestead of one hundred
and sixty acres of land, all of which was covered with timber. He luiilt a
log house and started to clear the land, burning a great deal of timber that
would now be of considerable value.
About this time William Sparrow was married to Adeline Matilda
Brinner, a native of Ohio, who removed to Minnesota with her parents and
made her home with them until her marriage, at Alberta. By this marriage
there were born eleven chiklren, namely: Mrs. Blanche Kiser, of Kansas
City, Missouri; Mrs. Bertha Owens, of Mackintosh, South Dakota; Mrs.
Bernice Franklin, of Stevensville, Montana ; Mrs. Beatrice Winnie Achufif,
of ^Minneapolis; Mrs. Christena Justin, of Kansas City, Missouri; Mrs. Ethel
Pearl Ward, of Eugene, Oregon; Mrs. Lillie Maude Harrin, of Portland,
Oregon; W^illiam Henry, of Seattle, Washington; Jay D. F., of Walla
Walla, \\^ashington; Thomas Joseph, of Hamilton, Montana; and Irene, who
died in infancy. Mrs. Adeline Matilda (Brinner) Sparrow died some years
ago, and on October 12. 1910, Mr. Sparrow was married to Mrs. Elva R.
Ross.
Mr. Sparrow and his first wife began keeping house in a log house hear
Alberta. Minnesota. They lived on this homestead farm for several years
and engaged mostly in raising cattle, although Mr. Sparrow had enough
land cleared to raise a little corn. Subsequently, he and his wife removed
to Mavo Lake, Minnesota, and purchased one hundred and twenty acres.
Here thev engaged in general farming and stock raising for three years.
Afterwards he sold out and moved to Rice, Minnesota, where he bought a lot
and built a residence and store building and engaged in the meat business.
He bought native stock and did his own butchering. He continued in busi-
ness at Rice for four years. Upon selling this business, he moved to Royal-
ton, where, with F. P. Farrow as a partner, he engaged in the meat business
once more. Mr. Sparrow and Mr. Farrow were in business for two years,
when Mr. Sparrow decided to go into business for himself. He purchased a
lot, built a storeroom and established a meat market. In the beginning Mr.
Sparrow went into debt heavily, but was soon able to pay out. He has his
own slaughter house and does his own killing, using native stock altogether.
Although not a member of any church, Mr. Sparrow is very friendly
toward the Episcopal and Methodist churches. He is an independent voter
398 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
and served as a member of the Royalton city council and as a member of the
Royalton school board. He is a member of Anchor Lodge No. 178, Free
and Accepted Masons. He is also a member of the Eastern Star and the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
JOSEPH B. HARTMANN.
Morrison county, Minnesota, has been fortunate in the number and
character of its business men. Joseph B. Hartmann, a general merchant of
Pierz, where he handles groceries, hardware and a general line of farm
machinery, has figured in the growth and development of Pierz township,
Morrison county, with which his interests have been identified for many
years. Earnest purpose and tireless energy, combined with mature judg-
ment and every-day common sense, are among his prominent characteristics.
Joseph B. Hartmann is the son of Valentine and Rosalia (Dealingler)
Hartmann and was born in Scott county, Minnesota, May 20, 1872. His
parents were both born in Germany, the father in Hesse-Darmstadt on May
9, 1835, and his mother on August 13, 1835. l*"or the life history of Mr. and
Mrs. Valentine Hartmann the reader is referred to the sketch of Philip A.
Hartmann, presented elsewhere in this volume.
Joseph B. Hartmann assisted his father on the farm until eighteen
years old and then worked for John H. Nicolin, who operated a hardware
store and tin shop. After working for Mr. Nicolin for four years and
learning the tinner's trade, Mr. Hartmann clerked for A. H. Catwell, a tinner
of Morton, Minnesota, for two years. He next worked for M. Brouks at
Sauk Center, JMinnesota, learning photograph}-. The next year he operated
a gallery at Jordan, Minnesota, and then rented it and came to Pierz, Minne-
sota, where he worked for his brother, Philip A. Hartmann, for one year in
the hardware and mercantile store.
On November 23, 1879, Jose])h Hartmann was married to Theresia
Hennen, who was born at Sping Hill, in Stearns county, Minnesota, on June
29, 1880. Mrs. Hartmann came to Pierz with her parents when a young
woman. She was educated in the parochial school at Pierz and made her
home with her parents until her marriage. Mrs. Hartmann is a most indus-
trious and hcli)ful woman and wife and has been no small factor in her
husband's success. She has borne him six children. Eorctta, Edmund,
Marcellus. Leona, Lucile, and Walter, who died in infancy.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 399
After his marriage, Mr. Hartmann purchased a half interest in his
brother's store and for four years was in partnership with him. He then
sold out and engaged in the saloon business at Pierz. After having operated
the saloon for ten months, he traded it for a farm two miles east of Pierz.
After operating the farm for one year, he rented it and removed back to
Pierz, where he purchased three lots in block No. 4, erecting a two-story
building, thirty-six by ninety-four feet, in which he established a tin shop
and clothing store. After two years he rented the clothing store to Joseph
Ries, continuing in the tinning business until 19 12. He then traded the farm
he had owned for a general mercantile stock and since then has operated the
store in connection with the tinning business. The Hartmann store is agent
for the Acme and Parlin & Orendorff lines of harvesting and farm machin-
ery.
Joseph B. Hartmann is a Republican and as such served as village presi-
dent for two years and as village clerk for five years. The family are mem-
bers of the Catholic church. Mr. Hartmann is a member of the Order of
Foresters. He is the organizer and one of the charter members of Pierz
Corps No. 710. He served as financial secretary for four years and was high
chief ranger for one year.
GEORGE SCHULTZ.
Among the business men of Upsala, Morrison county, Minnesota, is
George Schultz, who is now engaged in the meat business. Mr. Schultz
was born in Elmdale township, Morrison county, Minnesota, on August 31,
1879, and is the son of Jergon and Margareth (Bartelson) Schultz.
Mr. Schultz's father was born in Denmark, near Colling, and came to
America early in life, settling in Morrison county, Minnesota, where he
worked by the day for a time. Later he took a homestead, four miles east
of Upsala, comprising one hundred and twenty acres. After having obtained
a title to the property he lived on the land for a time and then sold out. He
returned to Denmark and was married. Later he came back to America
and purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land about two miles east
of Upsala, where he lived until his death, in 1903, when he was fifty-six
years old. His wife was born, reared and married in Denmark. They had
ten children, John, Sarah, George, Fred, .A.bel, Emma, Cora, Albert, Esther
7HS'
400 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
and Christine. Mr. and Mrs. Schultz were members of the Congregational
church.
George Schultz was educated in the public schools of Elmdale township.
He lived with his father and assisted him in the farm work until about thirty-
two years old. In 1914 George Schultz was married to Christine (Mar-
gritson) Sundeen. a native of Sweden, who came to America with her par-
ents. Mrs. Schultz's father, after coming to the United States, settled in
Morrison county, Minnesota. Mrs. Schultz was born in 1887. She has borne
her husband one child, Wynona Margarette.
After his marriage Mr. Schultz had charge for a time of the road build-
ing in a part of Elmdale township, Init in January, 191 5. he leased a butcher
shop in Upsala, and is still in charge of this enterprise.
Mr. Schultz is identified with the Republican party, but he has never
been especially active in its councils. He is a member of the Yeomen.
AUSTIN F. KOSLOSKY.
Among the leading citizens of Morrison county, Minnesota, is .Austin
F. Koslosky, a well-known merchant of Little Falls.
Austin F. Koslosky is a native of Prussian Poland, where he was born
on August 28, 1871. .He is the son of Martin and Pauline Koslosky, the
former of whom was born in Ivussian Poland in Xovemljer, 1835. and who,
after serving in the Russian and Prussian armies, came to America in 1873.
He settled first at Cheska. in Carver county, Minnesota, where he performed
various kinds of work for .six and one-half years and then moved to a farm
near Silverlake, in McLeod county, Minnesota. While living in McT.eod
county Mrs. Pauline Koslosky died suddenly in October, 1904. .\fter
giving his farm to his younger children and making his home with them
until 1914, Martin Koslosky came to Little Falls and is now residing with
his son, .Austin F., the suljject of this sketch.
Austin h\ Koslosky came to America with his parents in 1873. He
received his elementary education in the rural schools near Silverlake,
Minnesota, and was graduated from a Normal School at Dixon, Illinois, in
1898. .After working with a surveying crew f(ir one year, he came to Little
Falls and clerked in the St. i'aul department store at I.ittle Falls until 1903,
when he removed to Royalton and became manager of the "Emporium"
store there. After remaining at Royalton for ten mouths, he returned to
Al sri\ 1'. KdSl.ilSKY
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 4OI
Little Falls and organized a corporation known as the Victor Clothing Com-
pany, which dealt in men's furnishings and clothing and which had a store
on Broadway. Mr. Koslosky became the general manager of the store.
The company did a thriving business and in a short time the general man-
ager began to buy out the other shareholders. After purchasing all the
stock and the building, he remodeled the buildings and since then has
enlarged the stock until it is now double its former value. He not only has
an up-to-date store building, but handles a complete line of clothing, shoes
and men's furnishings, besides ladies' shoes, hosiery and underwear. He
carries one of the largest stocks in the city and Morrison county.
On October 14, 1901, Austin F. Koslosky was married at Little Falls
to Caroline Masog, who was born in Silesia, Prussian Poland, on Septem-
ber 23. 1873, and who came to America with her parents when a small girl
and settled with them at North Prairie, in Morrison county. Mrs. Kos-
losky was educated at North Prairie, at Little Falls and St. Cloud, and after
finishing her education, taught school for five terms. She also clerked in
the St. Paul store at Little Falls and there became acquainted with her future
husband. Mrs. Koslosky has borne her husband four children, Oswald,
Loretta, Mildred and lone.
Austin F. Koslosky is a member of both the German Catholic and the
Polish Catholic churches. A Republican in politics, he has served as alder-
man of Little Falls for two terms. He is a member of the Morrison County
Fair Association and one of the directors. Mr. Koslosky is a member of
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lnproved Order of Red Men
and the Knights of Columbus. He is a member of the Little Falls Com-
mercial Club and was the president of the club in 1914.
CHARLES GRAVEL, SR.
Perhaps very few men have had a larger part in the development of the
great Northwest than the venerable Charles Gravel, Sr., now a resident of
Onamia, Millelacs county, Minnesota, but who is interested in the flour mill
at Pierz, Minnesota. Mr. Gravel is a native of Montreal, Canada, born on
December 13, 1844.
Charles Gravel, Sr., was educated in the public schools of Canada and
hved in the Dominion of Canada until twenty-one years old, having learned
(26)
402 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
the carpenter trade under the direction of his father, who taught the trade
to all of his seven sons. When Mr. Gravel was twenty-one years old he
removed to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where he worked in a railroad shop
for six months. He then worked as a carpenter for the government for
two years at Leach Lake, Minnesota, after which, in partnership with a Mr.
Lee, father of Hon. William E. Lee, of Long Prairie, Minnesota, he built a
saw-mill at Red Lake, Minnesota. He then returned to Little Falls and
shortly afterwards to Long Prairie, Minnesota, where he purchased one hun-
dred and sixty acres of land. After building a house and otherwise improv-
ing the land, he sold this farm, returned to Little Falls and operated a drug
store, a general mercantile store and built houses under contract until 1870.
In 1870 Charles Gravel, St., established himself at Brainerd, Minne-
sota, where he took contracts for building the culverts and bridges for the
Northern Pacific railroad. During the next two years he was engaged in
building the culverts and bridges from Brainerd to Fargo. North Dakota.
With Brainerd as headquarters he then supplied the Northern Pacific rail-
road with ties and timber under a contract lasting two years. Upon leaving
Brainerd he removed to Little Falls, where he received a contract for carry-
ing the mail between St. Cloud and Brainerd, Minnesota, operating a stage
line until the Northern Pacific railway was completed in 1876. In partner-
ship with F. X. Goulet, Mr. Gravel then constructed a flour-mill at Gravel-
ville, a town named for him. In this mil! the old stone process of milling
was employed. Later Mr. Gravel was engaged in the lumber business, build-
ing a saw-mill, which he operated for eight or ten years. In 1883 he sub-
stituted the modern roller system in his flour-mill and provided for a mill
with one hundred barrels capacity. This mill was operated until the spring
of 1905, when he sold out and completed the construction of a mill at Pierz.
beginning operations on October 12, 1905, with a capacity of one hundred
and twenty-five barrels. Charles E. Gravel, a son, was taken into the busi-
ness as manager and partner.
Several years ago Mr. Gra\el removed from Little Falls to Onamia,
Minnesota, and in partnership with C. B. Buckman and a man by the name
of McGee, engaged in the lumber and mercantile business. Later the part-
nership was changed to Gravel & Robinson, liut the company was operated
as the Onamia Lumber and Mercantile Company. In 1913 Mr. Gravel pur-
chased the interest of Mr. Robinson in the business, and took into the busi-
ness with him his two sons, F. H. and E. A. Gravel, who now operate it.
Charles Gravel, Sr.. is now a man past seventy years, but is remarkably
well preserved for one of that age. His active life seems to have been good
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 403
for him, and he is now able to walk faster and farther than most men of
fifty, or even less. Although not at present a resident of Morrison county,
he is very well known here for what he has done to promote the commercial
development of this section of Minnesota. Essentially, Charles Gravel, Sr.,
belongs to the era of pioneer development, but unlike some of the men with
whom he has been associated in this great work, he has lived to see the slow
fruition of the many things for which he has striven in the upbuilding of
this great commonwealth.
RUBIN ERICKSON.
Rubin Erickson, who is well known in Elmdale township, Morrison
county, Minnesota, as a merchant, and who has enjoyed a very flattering
measure of success since engaging in the mercantile business in 191 1, is a
native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, born on July 9, 1888.
Mr. Erickson is a son of Erick and Anna (Eschen) Erickson, the
former of whom was born in 1854 in Sweden, and who came to the United
States as a young man, settling in Minneapolis, where he followed the car-
penter's trade and lived for eight years. He then removed to Elmdale
township, Morrison county, where he purchased eighty acres of land, a
part of which was under cultivation. He lived on this place for about
twenty- four years, when he sold out, and in 191 5 built a home in Upsala,
and has since lived retired. His wife was also born in Sweden and is one
year vounger than her husband. She came to the United States alone and
settled in Minneapolis, where she was married. The courtship between Mr.
and Mrs. Erick Erickson started in Sweden. They are the parents of four
children, Albin, Rubin, Edwin and Ethel. The mother of these children
died on July 7, 1912, at the age of fifty-seven years. She was a faithful and
devoted member of the Congregational church, as is her husband. Erick
Erickson is an independent Republican in politics.
When a young man Rubin Erickson came to Upsala and here attended
school, assisting his father on the farm until twenty-five years of age. On
November 19, 1913, Rubin Erickson was married to Selma Hedin, the daugh-
ter of Ole and Mary (Littleburg) Hedin. Ole Hedin was born at Yarpin,
November 4, 1858, and after coming to America, settled at Escauaba, Michi-
gan, where he was married to Mary Littleburg. She was born in Sweden,
January 10, i860, and came to America alone. Mr. and Mrs. Ole Hedin
are the parents of the following children: Henry, John, Arvid, Selma,
404 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
George, Christina and Emma. After his marriage Ole Hedin hved in Escau-
aba for two years, working in the woods. Later he removed to Minneapolis,
Minnesota, where he engaged in the Ijrick and stone business. After six
years he came to Elmdale township, Morrison county, where he purchased
forty acres of land in the woods. This land he cleared and put under culti-
vation. Later he added forty acres, and then eighty acres. Subsequently he
sold eighty acres of the farm to his eldest son. but is still farming the
remaining part of the place. He is a member of the Congregational church,
and is independent in politics.
After his marriage Rubin Erickson rented eighty acres of land in Elm-
dale township, and operated this farm for one year. In 1914 he purchased
the store building and lot, stock of dry goods and shoes owned by Esther
Carlson, who had established the store in 191 1. Mr. Erickson manages and
operates this store and has met with a very commendable degree of success.
Mr. and Mrs. Rubin Erickson are the parents of one child, Walter,
born on April 21, 191 5.
Rubin Erickson is an independent Republican in politics. He is a mem-
ber of the Yeomen, and has held most of the offices in this lodge.
AXEL MARTIN BORGSTROM.
It is the progressive, wide-awake man of affairs who makes the real
history of the community. His influence as a potential factor in the body
politic is difficult to estimate. The example such men furnish of patient
purpose and steadfast integrity illustrates what every man may accomplish.
There is always a measure of satisfaction in referring, even in a casual way,
to the achievements of men who have been prominent in business and public
life. Such a man is Axel Martin Borgstrom. an enterprising citizen of
Upsala, and since April, 1915, cashier of the bank at that place. Mr. Borg-
strom, with his father, platted the town of Upsala and promoted the sale of
town lots.
Axel Martin Borgstrom was born on August 8, 1888, in Sweden, and
is the son of John S. and Anna (Martinscm) Borgstrom, the former of
whom was born on June 7, 1861, in Sweden and who was the son of .Swan
and Margaretta (Erickson) Borgstrom, also natives of Sweden. Swan
Borgstrom was a member of the Swedish standing army for tliirt\-ti\c rears.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 4O5
or until his retirement on a pension. He is now eighty-nine years old. His
wife died in 1914, at the age of eighty-eight years. She was the mother of
four children, Erick, Swan, Jr., Anna and John.
John Borgstrom was educated in the common schools of his native
land and in the high school. He graduated from the military school at
Carlsbyer and served in the army for nine years. In 1893 he came to the
United States, landing in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Coming to Minnesota, he
bought eighty acres of land in Elmdale township. After farming the land
for three years, he opened a photograph gallery at Upsala, one at Swanville
and another at Gilligan. After seven years he sold out and opened a con-
fectionery store and was appointed postmaster, holding the office for nine
years. In 1909 Mr. Borgstrom sold the candy store and bought a hardware
store, which he operated until 191 5, when he again sold out and bought a
lumber and furniture store, which he still operates. Mr. Borgstrom is vice-
president and director of the Farmers' State Bank at Upsala and one of its
organizers. He is also a director and member of the board of the People's
State Bank of Swanville. He is interested in the People's Bank at St. Paul,
Minnesota. He has a sixteen-acre farm at the edge of Upsala. In 1886
Mr. Borgstrom was married in Sweden to Anna Martinson, who was bom
and reared in that country. To them have been born three children, Hilma,
Esther and Axel. Mr. Borgstrom is a member of the Lutheran church. He
is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Yeomen of
America. An independent in politics, he has served as township treasurer
for eighteen years. Among his other financial interests are the Farmers'
Co-operative Company and the Elmdale Telephone Company, in both of
which he is treasurer.
Axel M. Borgstrom was five years old when he was brought to the
United States. He attended the public schools of Upsala and afterward the
business college at Little Falls and Northwestern College at Fergus Falls,
being graduated from the latter institution with the class of 1910. Finishing
his education, he came back to Upsala and when twenty-two years old,
opened a confectionery and millinery store, which he still operates.
On August 26, 1914, Axel M. Borgstrom was married to Carrie Borg-
strom, a native of Sweden, vvho came to the United States with her parents,
settling in northern Minnesota. Mrs. Borgstrom is the daughter of Erick
and Mary Borgstrom, natives of Sweden.
In May, 1914, Axel M. Borgstrom was appointed assistant cashier of
the Farmers Bank of Upsala. and in April of the present year was appointed
406 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
cashier. He is a stockholder of the bank and one of its directors. Mr. and
Mrs. Borgstrom own their own home in Upsala. Mr. Borgstrom has also
been in the automobile business for some vears.
JOHN H. PETERSON.
Elmdale township, Morrison county, Minnesota, may well take just
pride in the fact that it can still number in the ranks of its citizens one of its
original settlers. This is John H. Peterson, who first came to this township
in 1872, and a story of whose life from that time on is interwoven closely
with the history of his chosen township through its various stages of develop-
ment. Mr. Peterson has seen the forests and scrub undergrowth gradually
disappear, fields and farms take their places, roads appear and communities
spring up in places which he can remember as clothed only with virgin
growth. He has many interesting stories to relate of the hardships and
privations of those early days, stories which now are pleasant to recall inas-
much as conditions have so changed and those hardships and privations no
longer necessary.
John H. Peterson is a native of Sweden, born in the eastern portion of
that country on March 10, 1848, son of Peter Peterson and Hannah, his
wife. Neither of Mr. Peterson's parents ever left their home country and
both lie buried there. His father, who was a farmer, lived to the ripe old
age of eighty-three years, his death occurring in the year 1909. The mother
died at the early age of thirty-five, leaving five children. John H. lieing the
third child in order of birth.
John H. Peterson got what little education he could when a boy and was
only nine years of age at the time of his mother's death. While only a child
himself, he was thus early loaded with responsibility, for he had a baby
sister, whose care fell to his lot. He took care of her until she was able to
look after herself, and then he started out in life for himself. He first went
into the paper factory, there to master the art of paper making, and remained
there four and one-half years. By that time he received his papers entitling
him to recognition as a finished paper maker, and he next turned his atten-
tion to learning the flour-milling trade. He worked in the mills for four
years, mastering the secrets of making and blending flour, and his ne.xt
employment was with a railroad company, with whom he worked until 1869.
He was then twenty-one years old and decided to take up his life in the
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 4O7
United States. He landed in New York in 1869 and then went over to New
Jersey and remained there three months. He then started westward into the
country where so many of his countrymen were, making Saint Paul his
destination. However, he remained there only a short time, during which
time he was employed by the railroad company. This probably lasted about
a year and he next went to Mankato, where he worked as a stonemason,
remaining there until the fall of 1871.
The following spring he was united in marriage with Hannah John-
berg, born in Sweden on November 24, 1850. Hannah had come to this
country with her sister-in-law and had been here about eighteen monthsj
previous to her marriage. To this union were born thirteen children, as
follow: Tilda, Anna, Henry, Fred, Lena, Louis, Clara (deceased), Emma
(wife of Charles Guthfort), Gust, Alma, David, and two who died in infancy.
Directly after his marriage, Mr. Peterson brought his bride to Elmdale
township and secured one hundred and sixty acres of land from the gov-
ernment. This he homesteaded, proving up on it and securing his patent
papers in due time. He built his first dwelling on the land in the fall of
1872, when he erected a small shack in which they lived for a few years.
Their household goods had been freighted to St. Cloud and it was necessary
for him to cover the distance between that point and his home (thirty-five
miles) with a team of oxen in order to get his goods to their destination.
There were no roadways at that time and he had to mark out a path for
himself as he came along. He found his way so difficult that the short
journey of thirty-five miles consumed three days. He brought with him in
addition to the household supplies sufficient lumber to roof his new shack
and then settled down to pass the winter as best they might. The next spring
he was able to break up two acres and since that time he has broken new
ground almost every year. He now has most of his land cleared, having
about eighty acres under cultivation and the balance in pasture land and
meadow.
In 1905 Mr. Peterson sold eighty acres, making his present holdings
one hundred and sixty acres. Mr. Peterson divides his time between general
farming and stock raising, having these two phases of agricultural work so
planned as to properly balance each other. He is one of the stockholders
in the Upsala Co-Operative Creamery Association, being one of the origina-
tors of that organization. He is milking ten cows in the summer of 1915.
disposing of his product to the creamery. He was at one time president of
that company and is at the present time .serving as its vice-president.
408 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
J\Ir. Peterson holds his religious membership in the Lutheran church,
being one of the faithful members of that society. He gives his support to
the Republican party. He has served as a member of the town board for
three terms and is one of those substantial citizens who can be counted on to
give his support to any worthy movement. Mr. Peterson is also a member
of the Elmdale Shipping Association, being among the first to be interested
in same. Mr. Peterson possesses those qualities which gain friendships, and
in the community where he has lived for so long a time he is held in the
warmest regard. He has from the first been anxious to secure for his com-
munity such improvements and bring about such conditions as would tend to
make life's duties less burdensome, and many of the privileges todav enjoyed
are due to the influence which he set in motion.
/-'
HENRY EDWARD HOKENSON.
Henry Edward Hokenson, a prosperous hardware dealer of Upsala,
Morrison county, Minnesota, has had much to do in advancing the commer-
cial interests of Elmdale township. He is a representative of the lousiness)
men of Elmdale township and particularly typical on account of his cordial
relations with his patrons and his high reputation for honorable dealings.
\lthough he has been in business at Upsala unly a few months, he has
already proved his business abilit}-. In addition to the hardware store, he
owns a farm of eighty acres under cultivation in section 34, of Swanville
township.
Henry Edward Hokenson was born on February 9, 1885, in Elmdale
touiishii), Morrison county, Minnesota. He is the son of .Andrew and Betsy
(Nelson) Hokenson. Andrew Hokenson is a native of Sweden, who came
to America about five years after his marriage and settled in this township.
Here he bought one hundred and twenty acres of land and later added forty
acres adjoining the original tract. He farmed until 1914, when he sold out
and moved to Upsala, where he is now living retired. His wife is also a
native of Sweden. To them have been born eight children, two of whom
are deceased. The living children are: Jennie; I'~lien, wife of Mr. Goodwin;
Ida, who married l-rcd Sail; Henry E., the subject of this sketch; Fred, and
Esther, who married Ever Olson. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Hokenson and
family are members of the Congregational church.
Henry E. Hokenson was educated in district school No. 15. ami after
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 4O9
finishing his education assisted his father on the farm until 1908, when he
went to Minneapolis and for a time was foreman of the boiler room of the
electric light plant. He remained in Minneapolis for six years, in the mean-
time saving his money. On May 15, 191 5. he purchased the hardware store
owned by J. S. Bergstrom. Mr. Hokenson has no competition in the hard-
ware business in this town.
A few months after establishing himself in the hardware business, on
July 12, 191 5, Henry Edward Hokenson was married to Olga Frisk, the
daughter of Nels Frisk. She was born on July 20, 1890, at St. Paul, Minne-
sota. When a mere infant she was brought by her parents to Upsala, where
she was educated. When she was about seventeen years old, she went to
Minneapolis and worked there until a few months before her marriage. Mrs.
Hokenson's parents were both born in Sweden. They settled first in St.
Paul and then purchased a farm in Elmdale township, where they still live.
Mrs. Hogenson, who is the eldest child in her parents' family, has one
brother and four sisters.
Mr. flokenson is a past officer in the Yeomen of America.
CHARLES J. SWEDBACK.
A man's reputation is the property of the world, for the laws of nature
have forbidden isolation. Every human being either submits to the con-
trolling influence of others or wields an influence which controls, guides or
directs others. If a man is honest and successful in his chosen field of effort
and endeavor, his work may serve as an example for others to follow. The
reputation of Charles J. Swedback, a prosperous young merchant of Upsala,
and one of the leading citizens in this part of Morrison county, is altogether
unassailable. His life has been one of honorable relations with his fellowsi
and of large usefulness to them.
Charles J. Swedback, a native of Wright county, Minnesota, was born
at Delano, July 20, 1874, and is the son of John and Erickka (Anderson)
Swedback, the former of whom was the son of John and Dorthia Swedback,
and the latter was born in Sweden on March 9, 1841, the daughter of Arikka
and Magdelina Anderson. Mrs. Erickka Swedback's father was born in
1803 in Sweden, and was a farmer by occupation. He died in 1876, at the
age of seventy-three. Mrs. Swedback's mother was born in 1800 in Sweden.
She lived to be seventy-eight years old, dying in 1878. Arikka and Magde-
4IO MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
lina Anderson had five children, of whom Mrs. Swedback was the youngest.
She was educated in Sweden and, when twenty-seven years old, came to
America, being married upon her arrival at Red Wing, Minnesota, to the late
John Swedback. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Swedback removed
from Red Wing to Minneapolis, where Mr. Swedback was engaged in black-
smithing. In about four years, he bought a blacksmith sliop at Delano,
Wright county, to which they removed. After ten years the shop burned.
He then established a small saw-mill at the same place, which he operated
about two years. On account of the shortage of lumber at Delano, they
moved to Upsala in 1884. He ran a mill here for some ten years. After-
wards he operated the mill at other places until his death, on December 31,
1899, at which time he was fifty-seven years old. After his death the mill
was sold. Mr. and Mrs. Swedback had started a general store in Upsala
about 1884, and to this Mrs. Swedback devoted her attention. In 1909 she
sold out and later purchased another store, which she operated until 1913,
when she sold it to her son, Charles. Mr. Swedback, with the assistance of
some farmers, had organized the Farmers' Co-operative Creamery Company.
Later, Mrs. Swedback purchased the creamery, and operated it for about five
years. After putting it into good running order, she sold out to the farmers
who are operating it at the present time. Mrs. Swedback is a stockholder
in the Farmers' State Bank. She is the mother of four children, as follow :
Andrew ; Dorthia, deceased ; Charles ; and an infant, who is deceased. Being
a strong Republican, the late John Swedback had held many local ofiices of
trust and responsibility during his life.
Charles J. Swedback, the youngest living child in his i)arents" family,
was educated in tlie public schools at Delano and Upsala, Minnesota, .\fter
finishing his education, he assisted his father in the lumber business until his
father's death, in 1899.
On May 2, 1900, Charles J. Swedback was married to Minnie Nelson,
who was born on March 7, 1875, in Sweden and who came to the United
States with her mother when she was seven years old. They settled at
Delano, in Wright county, and lived there until 1898. when they removed
to Bemidji, where she was married. Mrs. Swedback is the daughter of Nils
and Carrie Nelson. Her father died in Sweden and her mother, who had
two children, Minnie and Martin, is still living.
When Charles J. Swedback was married he was a stationary engineer,
a trade which he followed off and on for many years. In 1902 he opened a
grocery store at P.eniidji, operating it for tlu-ee and one-h.ilf years. During
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 4II
this period he was actively interested in poHtics. He served as a member
of the Bemidji city council. He then moved to Big Falls, where he built and
operated the first telephone system of the town. He was also postmaster
for a couple of years. Upon selling the telephone company, he moved back
to the Bemidji, remaining two years, until 1911, when he came to Upsala
with his family and purchased his mother's store.
Mr. and Mrs. Swedback have two children, Vernon and Meille. The
latter is attending school.
Mr. Swedback is independent in politics. He is a member of the Free
and Accepted Masons, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the
Yeomen.
HENRY HEDIN.
Henry Hedin, a prosperous merchant of Upsala, Morrison county,
Minnesota, who enjoys perhaps the largest trade of any merchant in the
town, is a native of Minneapolis, born on May 25, 1880.
Mr. Hedin's parents, Ole and Mary (Littleburg) Hedin, are both
natives of Sweden, the former having been born at Yarpin on November 4,
1858, and the latter having been born at Malcalm on January 10, i860. Ole
Hedin came to America early in life and, after landing in New York City,
moved west to Michigan, settling at Escauaba, where he met his wife and
was married. After living in Michigan for about two years, where he
worked in the timber, he went to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was there
engaged in brick and stone work for about six years. He next came to
Elmdale township, Morrison county, and purchased forty acres of land in
the woods. He cleared this land, put it under cultivation and later bought
forty acres of land which he had cleared. He next bought eighty acres of
land in the same section and farmed the entire one hundred and sixty acres
for several years. Finally he sold eighty acres of the farm to his eldest son
but is still engaged in cultivating the remaining eighty, where he makes his
home. His wife came to the United States alone and lived in Escauaba,
Michigan, until her marriage. She has borne her husband seven children:
Henry, John, Arvid, Selma, George, Christina and Emma, the youngest.
Mr. and Mrs. Ole Hedin are members of the Congregational church. Mr.
Hedin is independent in politics.
Henry Hedin attended district school in Elmdale township, but pro-
412 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
ceeded only as far as the fourth grade. He assisted his father on the farm
until he was twenty-two years old, after which he worked in the coal yards
of Minneapolis for one year.
Upon returning home, Henry Hedin was married, on July 27, 1904, to
Agusta Mokros, a native of Elmdale township, Morrison county, born on
September 14, 1883. Mrs. Hedin has lived in this township all her life. She
has borne her husband three children, Herold, Albin and Robert. Mrs.
Hedin's parents were Carl and Susie Mokros, lx)th of whom were born in
Germany.
After his marriage, Mr. Hedin purchased forty acres of land in Elm-
dale township and farmed this land for two and one-half years, wlu-n he
purchased the blacksmith shop in Upsala. After operating the shop for
some two years, he leased the blacksmith shop and built a store building.
He opened a general mercantile store and carried a general line of hardware
and groceries as well as meat, having added a butcher shop in igio. Mr.
Hedin owns all the buildings in which his stores are housed.
Mr. Hedin is a progressive citizen. He owns his own automobile,
which is not only used for a pleasure car but also in his business. Politi-
cally, he is independent.
ALFRED PEHRSON.
Alfred Pehrson, who is a successful merchant at Upsala, MorrLson
county, Minnesota, is a native of Sweden, having been born near ^i;,!:no,
November 12, 1877.
Mr. Pehrson is the son of Peter and Bengta Pehrson, both of whom
were born in Sweden and who li\e(l there until reaching middle age. They
then came to America and settled at Minneajwlis, Minnesota, where Peter
Pehrson was engaged in carpentering, having learned his trade in his native
land. After living in Minneapolis for six years the Pchrsons moved to
Morrison county, purchasing eighty acres of land near Elmdale. .\fter
farming this land for twenty years, Peter Pehrson sold the farm and has
since been living retired on three acres of the old homestead. He is an
independent Republican in politics. Mrs. Peter Pehrson was reared, edu-
cated and married in Sweden. To Mr. and Mrs. Pehrson have been born
five children, .\.xel, .\lfred, Nellie. Esther and .\rllun-. Of these children.
Nellie is the wife of Andrew Martinson and Esther is the wife of CXscar
Martinson.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 413
Alfred Pehrson was only one and one-half years old when his parents
came to America. He received a good common-school education in the
public schools of Upsala, and when his education was finished worked on the
farm with his father for three years, until he was eighteen years old. He
then went to Galchutt, North Dakota, and worked on a farm for two years.
At the age of twenty, Mr. Pehrson began working in a saw-mill at Virginia,
St. Louis county, Mmnesota. After working for one season at Virginia, he
moved to lower Minnesota, where he worked in a saw-mill for two years.
At the end of this time he came back to his home in Upsala and here was
engaged as a clerk in the store he now owns for a period of eight years.
On December 22, 1904, Alfred Pehrson was married to Ellen Anderson,
a native of Sweden, who was born on October 4, 1886, and who came to the
United States when a small girl with her parents. They settled in Elmdale
township, where she lived until her marriage. Mrs. Pehrson is the daughter
of Otto and Gustava (Rundquist) Anderson, both of whom are natives of
Sweden and who, after reaching middle life, came to America, settling in
Morrison county, Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Pehrson have been the parents
of two children, Gordon Alfred and Kenneth.
After his marriage. Mr. Pehrson rented his father's farm and farmed
for one year. He then returned to Upsala and again was employed as a
clerk in the store he now owns. In November, 1909, he purchased the store
and has been successfully conducting the store ever since. Alfred Pehrson
is a stockholder in the Farmers' Co-operative Creamery Association. He is
independent in politics. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and the Yeomen of America.
ALFRED M. STOLE.
Alfred M. Stoll was born on January 2. 1889, at Little Falls, Morrison
county, Minnesota. He is the son of Stanislaus and Gertrude (Saumpf)
Stoll, the former of whom was born near St. Nazianz, Wisconsin, and who
studied for the priesthood at Quebec, Canada, mastering the German and
French languages. After nearly finishing his studies he decided not to fol-
low that vocation, and after coming to the United States he was engaged in
teaching school at Pierz for a few years and then worked as a bookkeeper
in a flour-mill and store at Gravelville, then worked at Royalton and Pierz.
From Rovalton he removed to Little Falls, where he was employed by the J.
414 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
W. Berg Hardware Company as a bookkeeper. After one year of residence
in Little Falls, he made the race for clerk of the court but was unsuccessful.
Subsequently, he made the race for county treasurer in 1883 and was suc-
cessful, remaining county treasurer until his death, in 1891. While living
in Little Falls, he became well known in Morrison county as one of the
leading Democrats. When the old flour-mill burned, he assisted in fighting
the flames and, as a result of exposure at this fire, died in July, 1891, at the
age of thirty-three years. He was one of the prominent leaders in the Ger-
man Catholic church at Little Falls and a Democrat in politics. He was also
a member of St. Joseph's Society.
Mrs. Gertrude ( Stumph ) Stoll was l)orn in Dane county. Wisconsin,
1865, and was educated in the district schools of the county. She lived
at home with her parents until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs S. Stoll had
five children, as follow: Anthony P. is cashier of the German State Bank,
of Pierz; Adelaide is married to Dr. Frank Sykora, of Brainerd; Edward
J. is a cashier of the Farmer's State Bank, at Dent. Minnesota; Alfred M.
is the subject of this sketch; Reinhard M. is assistant cashier of the German
State Bank, at Pierz.
Alfred M. Stoll was educated in the common schools and in the Cath-
olic parochial schools. After finishing his elementary education, he attended
the Little Falls high school for two years and was then employed by the W.
H. Ryan Hardware Com])any for two years. At the end of this period,
Mr. Stoll removed to Frazee, Minnesota, where he engaged in the lumber
business. He returned, however, to Little Falls and was employed by the
Little Falls Hardware Company as manager of the company. He was next
employed by the Bucknian Hardware Company at Fargo, North Dakota,
for one year and then returned to Little Falls and was emploved as head
salesman for Julius Jetka Hardware Company for two years.
In May, 1914, Mr. Stoll announced his candidacy as clerk of the Mor-
rison county court. In the fall of 1914 he was triumphantly elected to this
position and still holds the office.
Alfred M. Stoll was married on November J5, 1913, to Margaret
Fromelt. a native of Todd county, who was educated at Little Falls and
who is a graduate of both the Little b'alls high school and the Little I'"alls
Business College. .\t the time of her marriage Mrs. Stoll was emploved
by H. Landahl, a real e.state dealer of Little Falls. Mr. and Mrs. Stoll have
one child.
Alfred M. Stoll is a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Benevol-
ent and Protective Order of l-".lks. tiie Inijiroved Order of Reel Men, the
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 415
Loj'al Order of Moose. Mr. and Mrs. Stoll are members of the German
Catholic church. Mr. Stoll is a member of the Little Falls Volunteer Fire
Relief Association.
JOSEPH J. CHIRHART.
Joseph J. Chirhart, manager of the Royalton branch of the Rudd Lum-
ber Company, is a nati\e of Stearns county, Minnesota, born near Holdings-
ford, November 13, 1885. Mr. Chirhart is the son of Isadore and Mary
(Thierse) Chirhart.
Isadore Chirhart, who was born in New York state in 1850, came to
Stearns county, Minnesota, when twenty-one years old. There he took a
homestead of one hundred and sixty acres. His mother also took a home-
stead adjoining her son, which he later acquired. Isadore Chirhart is still
living. He is an ardent Democrat and has held several minor offices, includ-
ing those of assessor and trustee. His wife was born near Evansville, Indi-
ana, and came with her parents to Stearns county. Minnesota, where her
parents took up land. She lived with them until her marriage. Eleven
children were born to Isadore and Mary (Thierse) Chirhart, of whom
Joseph J. was the fifth born.
Like most boys reared on the Minnesota frontier. Joseph J. Chirhart
was educated in the public schools. He attended district No. 12 in Stearns
county for about eight months in the year, and after finishing his education
assisted his father until reaching his majority. He then removed to Bowlus,
Morrison county, and began life on his own responsibility, working in a
lumber yard for the Bargerding Lumber Company. After remaining for
three months, in 1908, Mr. Chirhart came to Royalton where he was engaged
to take charge of the Royalton branch of the same firm. In the fall of
1912, the Rudd Lumber Company purchased the Royalton branch of the
Bargerding Lumber Company, and Mr. Chirhart was retained as manager
of the local branch.
Joseph J. Chirhart was married in igio to Harriet Van Denheuvel, the
daughter of ,\rnold and Anna (Schmitt) Van Denheuvel, natives of Hol-
land who, after coming to America, first settled in Wisconsin, and then in
F^ierz township. Later they bought a farm in Royalton, where they now
make their home. Mrs. Chirhart was born at Hay Springs, Sheridan county,
Nebraska, on January 31, 1888, and was educated in the Nebraska district
schools and those of Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Chirhart have had two
children, Ravmond and Terome.
4l6 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
The Chirhart family are members of the Royalton Catholic church.
Independent in politics, Mr. Chirhart has serxed as trustee of the village
of Royalton for several years. He is now beginning his second term, having
filled the office with credit to himself and the people who elected him.
J. KENNETH MARTIN.
One of the influential citizens of Little Falls, Morrison county, Minne-
sota, who ranks as one of the city's leading bankers and business men, is J.
Kenneth Martin, cashier of the First National Bank of Little Falls, a large
landholder in Morrison county, the owner of two business blocks in Little
Falls and a man who is heavily interested in various banks throughout
Minnesota and other states. He is a man of excellent endowments and
upright character and not only has been prominent in the financial and com-
mercial life of the city but has been prominent in public affairs generally.
He has stood first and foremost by the material advancement of his home
city and has loyally supported at all times every worthy public enterprise.
J. Kenneth Martin is a native of Benton county, Minnesota, and was
born on a farm near St. Cloud, October 8, 1871. He is the son of Lycurgus
F. and Flora (Knapp) Martin. Lycurgus F. Martin, who died suddenly
in September, 1909, at the age of sixty-nine years, was a native of Oxford,
Ontario, Canada, born on July 27, 1841. When he was still a young man
he immigrated to Wisconsin but soon afterwards settled near St. Cloud,
Minnesota, where he worked in a stone quarry for a few years. Later he
removed to a farm of one hundred and sixty acres of wild land, southeast
of Royalton in Benton county. He cleared this land, ])ut it under cultiva-
tion, and lived upon the farm for twelve years, when he removed to Rice,
Minnesota, and for a few years operated the hotel. Upon selling the hotel,
he removed to Sentinel Butte, Billings county. North Dakota, where he
homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land. He received the patent
on the land and lived upon it for eight years, after which he operated a fruit
ranch near Los .\ngcles, California, for one year. Mr. Martin was pre-
paring to remove permanently to Los Angeles but died suddenly >iiortly
after his return from Los Angeles in 1909. He was a member of the Epis-
copal church and a prominent Mason. Mrs. Flora (Knapp) Martin was
born on a farm in \Visconsin on June 9, 1844. She bore her husband four
children, Alfred L., J. Kenneth, Maude E.. and Blanche A., who married
r. II. Russell.
J. KKXXKTII MAUTIN
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 417
J. Kenneth Martin was educated in the common schools of Benton
county. After finishing his elementary education, took up telegraphy and
for a number of years worked for the St. Paul &: Duluth railroad, the Soo
line and the Northern Pacific railroad. In 1902 he abandoned the telegraph-
er's key, at which time he had been serving as agent of Royalton, and then
came to Little Falls and accepted a position as bookkeeper of the First
National Bank of Little Falls. He held this position for two years and was
made teller of the bank. He was teller for two years and then was made
assistant cashier, in which position he also served for two years. In 1906
Mr. Martin was elected cashier and still holds this position.
The First National Bank is one of the leading financial institutions of
Morrison county. Mr. Martin has had no little part in its recent growth.
The business of the bank has grown marvelously in the past few years. Not
only is the cashier of the First National Bank popular with the other officers
and directors of the institution but he is likewise popular with the bank's
depositors and with the public generally.
In 1900 J. Kenneth Martin was married to Lottie L. Tanner, a native
of Little Falls, Minnesota, born there on May 2, 1874. Mrs. Martin has
lived in Little Falls all her life. Mr. and Mrs. Martin have three children,
Kenneth T., Herbert L., and Frederick L.. all of whom live at home with
their parents.
Mr. and Mrs. J. Kenneth Martin are members of the Episcopal church.
Mr. Martin is a prominent Mason in Morrison county and a stanch
Republican.
PETER VIEHAUSER.
There is no positive rule for achieving success, yet in the life of the
successful man there are always lessons which may well be followed. The
life of Peter Viehauser, the manager of the Farmers' Co-operative Creamery
Association, of Upsala, is a striking evidence of what persistent effort will
accomplish. The man who is prosperous generally is the man who can see
and utilize the opportunities which come his way. Such a man is Mr.
X^iehauser.
Peter Viehauser was born in Stearns county, Minnesota, March 5, 1881,
the son of John and Anna Viehauser, the former of whom was born in
Illinois, where he was educated and where he lived until he came to Stearns
county, Minnesota. There his parents took up a homestead, which he later
(27)
4l8 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
received and upon which he now lives. Although he was a farmer in early
life, he later engaged in the butcher business at Albany for two years and
then became manager of the mill at Albany. He is still living and is identi-
fied with the Democratic party and the Catholic church. Anna Viehauser,
his wife, was born in Germany and came to the United States with her
parents when three years old. They also settled in Stearns county, where
Anna was educated and where she lived until her marriage. John and Anna
Viehauser have been the parents of eight children, of whom Peter, the sub-
ject of this sketch, is the eldest living. One child older than he died in
infancy. The others are George; Catherine, who married Jacob Willen-
bring; Mary, who married Michael Willenbring; Joe; Lena, who married
Bartol Muyres; and John.
Educated in the public schools of Albany, after he had finished his edu-
cation, Mr. Viehauser worked for the Albany Creamery for three years,
beginning at the age of thirteen. When he was si.xteen years old, he moved
to Freeport, Miimesota, where lie was a buttermaker for the Freeport
Creamery Association. There he remained for two years and then came
back to Albany, where he worked for about four months in a flour-mill.
Upon leaving Albany, Mr. Viehauser came to Upsala to accept a position in
a creamery controlled by Mrs. J. Swedback. In about eight years she sold
out to the Farmers' Co-operative Association and the firm name was changed
to the Farmers' Co-operative Creamery Association in 1908. Mr. \'iehauser
has been manager of the creamery at Upsala for the past fifteen years, now
being a stockholder in the concern.
On October 7, 19 14, Peter Viehauser was married to Bertha Anderson,
the daughter of Otto and Gustava (Rundquist) Anderson, both of whom
were born in Sweden and who, after coming to America, settled east of
Upsala, where they still live. Mrs. Viehauser was born in Minnesota.
Among Mr. Viehauser's financial interests it may be said that he is a
stockholder and director in the Farmers' Bank of Upsala, also a stockholder
in the bank at Bowlus. He owns about eighty acres of land near Albany,
in Stearns county, and forty acres near Burtrum, in Todd county, all of
which is under cultivation. Mr. and Mrs. Viehauser also own tluir own
home in Upsala.
Peter Viehauser is independent in politics. He is a member of tiie
Bankers' Casualty Company. A man of accurate business instincts, indus-
trious habits and genial manners, Peter Viehauser is honored and respected
by the citizens of Upsala and vicinity.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 419
REV. JOSEPH CHARLES JANSKI.
There is no earthly station higher than the ministry of the gospel. No
life can be more uplifting and grander than that which is devoted to the
amelioration of the human race, to a life of sacrifice for the betterment of
mankind. One who is willing to cast aside all earthly crowns and laurels
of fame in order to follow in the footsteps of the lowly Nazarene is deserving
of the most sympathetic consideration and the highest praise from mankind.
It is not possible to measure adequately the heights, depth and breadth of
men who are consecrated to the cause of the Christian religion. The
influences of such men continue to control the lives of others through suc-
ceeding generations. One of the ardent, loyal and true spirits of the great
Christian church is the Rev. Joseph Charles Janski, the pastor of the church
at Bowles, Morrison county, Minnesota.
Joseph Charles Janski, a native of North Prairie, Minnesota, was bap-
tized there, took his first communion at North Prairie, was confirmed there,
ordained as a priest at North Prairie, read his first mass in the church there,
and was pastor of the church at North Prairie for two years.
Father Janski is a son of Casper and Mary (Schelonka) Janski, both
of whom were born in Silesia, Poland, Germany. Casper Janski, when
twenty-three years of age, immigrated to the United States, and after land-
ing in New York City traveled to St. Cloud, Minnesota. Later he bought
eighty acres of land in Stearns county. Minnesota, and was married at North
Prairie, where he lived for four years. Subsequently he bought one hundred
and fifty acres of land in Two Rivers township, where he is now living. He
also owns one hundred and twenty acres of land in Benton county. His
wife, Mary Schelonka, came to the United States with her parents when
thirteen years of age. They settled one mile south of North Prairie, where
she lived until her marriage to Casper Janski. To this marriage have been
born the following children : Susan, Joseph, Nicholas, John, Roman, Rose,
Paul, Helen, Raymond, Regina and Clara.
Joseph Charles Janski was the second child in his parents' family, his
birth occurring at North Prairie, January 28, 188 1. He received his ele-
mentary education in the district schools of North Prairie, following which
he assisted his father on the farm for five years. He then became a student
at St. Francis' Seminary, near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, graduating from the
classical course of this institution with the class of 1903. Afterwards he
attended St. Paul Seminary, at St. Paul, Minnesota, graduating from this
420 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
college January 25, 1908, and was ordained to the priesthood on February 2,
1909. For the next six months he was private secretary to Bishop Trobec,
after which he was appointed to the North Prairie parish at North Prairie,
where he served for two years. Upon leaving this parish he went to Friends-
burg, Morrison county, where he remained for three years. In 19 14 he
was assigned to the Bowles church. While he was pastor of North Prairie,
he also had charge of the parish at Bowles, and helped to establish the church
at Bowles while acting as private secretary to Bishop Trobec. This parish
now has a thriving congregation.
CHARLES H. WERNER.
Germany has furnished thousands of good citizens to the United States,
and Morrison county, Minnesota, has been fortunate to count a number of
them as a part of her body politic. The descendants of these early German
settlers in this country are characterized by the same thrift and economy,
which made their fathers leading business men and farmers in various parts
of the country. Charles II. Werner, one of the leading Inisiness men of
Ro\alton, Minnesota, who is now engaged in the butcher business, is a
worthy descendant of a pioneer German settler, who was prominent in the
business life of Cincinnati, Ohio, where he settled about 1847.
Charles H. Werner was born in the Queen City, b'ebruary 9, 1862. and
is the son of Christopher and Alargarctte (Wagner) Werner, the former of
whom was liorn in Hesse-Darm-Jtadt, Germany. July 3, 1825, and who, after
coming to .America, .settled in Cincinnati :md became a locksmith. Later he
drifted into the general hardware business and remained in business in Cin-
cinnati until his death. His wife, ALargarette Wagner, was born in Wurt-
temberg, Germany, March 20, 1825. She came to .\merica with her parents
when twenty-three years old, in 1848, and was sixty days on the water.
The family landed in New York and moved to Adams county, Ohio, but
subst(|uently removed to Cincinnati, where Mrs. Werner was married.
Christopher and Margarette (Wagner) Werner were the parents of
ten children, all of whom are living: Jdhn, Christopher, Jr.. Lev. I->nest,
Margarette, William, Elizabeth, Charles II.. Louis, b'rederick C. and
Rudolph. Christopher Werner was a soldier in the Union army during tlie
Civil War and served three years. He was discharged on account of rheu-
matism lie w.is a Republican, a member of the German Methodist Epis-
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 421
copal churcli and, at his death, the oldest niemljer of the congregation with
which he was affiliated. He died in 1904, at the age of seventy-nine years.
Charles H. Werner received his education in the public schools of Cin-
cinnati and in the night high school of the Queen City. After finishing his
education, he went to work for the Steinhagen Insurance Agency and, for
three and one-half years sold fire and life insurance. Afterward he was
engaged in the banking business for about two and one one-half years, but an
injury compelled him to abandon this business and he was then employed
l)y Hanke Brothers in their department store in Cincinnati, remaining there
for six years. After that he was employed by the Hoberg-Root & Com-
pany, of Terre Haute, Indiana, where he remained for ten years. After
that Mr. Werner was employed by the Harris-Emery department store for
two and one-half years and then was manager of the James Lyons store
at Guthrie Center for two years. Subsequently, he managed the "New
Store" at Jamaica, Iowa, for one year and was then employed by Brosnan
Brothers, of Indianapolis, as general manager of their store. He remained
with the firm until it dissolved and was then employed by the Metropolitan
Life Insurance Company as assistant superintendent over the Indianapolis
territory for a period of si.x years. He was then proprietor of Werner's
daily market for two and one-half years, at the end of which time he came
to Royalton, Minnesota, and was associated with John Russell for four
years. Mr. Werner next became manager of the co-operative store, with
which he remained until April i, 1914, when he opened Werner's meat
market at Royalton. He is still successfully engaged in the meat business.
On July TO, 1884, Charles H. Werner was married to Minnie Lang-
\\isch, who was born on March 20, 1866, in Cincinnati, the daughter of
Henry Langwisch, a butcher by trade, who kept a meat market in Cincin-
nati. Mrs. Minnie Werner died on December 28, 1898, at Des Moines,
Iowa, and on November 24, 19 10, Mr. Werner was married to Flora Joslin,
the daughter of Albert E. and Sarah (Fowler) Joslin, both of whom were
native-born American citizens. Mrs. Werner was born on March 8, 1871,
at Richland Center, Wisconsin, where she lived until the family moved to
Royalton. She was educated in the Morrison county public schools and
later took a normal course at St. Cloud. A special teachers' life certificate
was awarded her for efficient and meritorious service. She served as assist-
ant principal of the .schools at North Mankato, in Blue Earth county, until
her marriage. In 1914 Mrs. Werner accepted a position as assistant prin-
cipa' of the Royalton high school.
To Mr. Werner's first marriage, there were born four children, namely:
422 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Harry lives in Indianapolis, where he is chief clerk to the car accountant of
the Big Four railroad; Herbert married Bertha Shipley and lives in Indian-
apolis, where he is a passenger conductor on the Big Four railroad; Martha
is unmarried and lives with her brother, Herbert, in Indianapolis; David
lives at home and manages the farm west of Royalton, which his father
rents.
Mr. and Mrs. Werner reside in one of the prettiest homes in Royalton,
located on five lots at the corner of Gilpatric and Fourth streets. Mr.
Werner is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is superin-
tendent of the Sunday school and president of the county association.
Charles H. Werner is a member of Social Lodge No. 86, Free and Accepted
Masons, at Terre Haute, Indiana. He is also a member of the Royal Arch
Masons. He is secretary of the Modern Brotherhood and a member of the
Knights of the Maccabees. He is a justice of the peace in this township.
Charles H. Werner is a man of far more than average ability, as his
career well proves. He has demonstrated time and again, his ability to
succeed in different lines of endeavor. Mr. Werner is one of the most
popular citizens of Royalton.
AXEL BERGMAN.
Axel Bergman, a well-known blacksmith of Morrison county, Minne-
sota, was born in Helsingland, Sweden, December 15, 1886. He is a son of
Lewis and Martha (Rose) Bergman, both of whom were natives of Sweden.
Lewis Bergman was a blacksmith by trade, and followed his trade in his
native land until middle life, when he came to the United States, living for a
short time in Little Falls. Afterwards he moved with his family to Elmdale
township, where they purchased ten acres of land about one mile east of
Little Falls. Later they added forty acres adjoining to their original pur-
chase, and still later another forty acres. Lewis Bergman is still engaged in
farming in this township. He is a Republican in politics, and a member of
the Yeomen. He and his wife were the parents of twelve children, of whom
Axel is the eldest. The other children are Christine, Anna, John, Ella.
Vendla, Louis, Gonell, Elmer, Yalmer, Freda and Vira. Anna is the wife
of Oscar Erickson. Ella married Joseph Erickson and Vendla is the wife
of Clarence Tack.
Axel Bergman received his education in the schools of his native land
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 423
and came to America with his parents in 1900. He worked with his father
on the home farm until he was about twenty-five years old, when he went
to Minneapolis, where he worked in a blacksmith shop for about a year.
Upon returning to Elmdale township he took over the blacksmith shop
owned by Henry Hedin, and is still in charge of this shop.
On October 6, 1914, Axel Bergman was married to Ellen Bergman,
who was born on July 15, 1895, in Wisconsin, but who was educated and
who has lived most of her life in Upsala. She is a daughter of Andrew
Bergman. Mr. and Mrs. Bergman are faithful and earnest members of the
Lutheran church. Mr. Bergman is a member of the Yeomen. He is an
adherent of the Republican party.
BYRON R. WILSON.
Among the well-known young attorneys of Royalton, Minnesota, is
Byron R. Wilson, a native of Royalton who was born on June 21, 1891, the
son of Albert C. and Annie M. Wilson, well-known citizens of Morrison
county.
Albert C. Wilson, who was born on April 22, 1858, at Bangor, New
York, was educated at Montreal, Canada. He learned the machinist's trade
when a young man and followed this trade for a few years until removing
to White Hall, New York, where he engaged in the lumber business for
three years. Leaving White Hall he went to New York City, where he was
engaged in the lumber business for a year. Afterwards he returned to
Montreal, Canada, and helped his father settle up the business at that place.
In 1882 Mr. Wilson went to Minneapolis and was engaged by the Langdor
Sheppard Company, railroad contractors, and assisted in the construction
of the Canadian Pacific railroad. He remained with this firm for about
four years and during the period had charge of supplies for the construction
of the road.
In 1885 Albert C. Wilson removed to Royalton and, with Gary B.
Peary, purchased the Fort Ripley Lumber Company at Royalton. After
a short time, he and his father then purchased the business, which they oper-
ated until the plant was struck by lightning and burned. There was no
insurance at the time. Mr. Wilson owned some real estate and now owns
a section of land one mile east of Royalton. He assisted in the incorpora-
tion of the electric light company and was made its president and general
-1^4 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
manager, a position which he still holds. Air. Wilson's wife was born in
1863, at Detroit, Michigan, and was educated in that state. I\Ir. and Mrs.
Wilson were married on January 8, 1888, and have had four children,
Knight B., Bj-ron R., Isaac J. and Marion
Byron R. Wilson attended the grade schools of Royalton and was
graduated from the common schools in igo6. The next year he entered the
Royalton high school and was graduated with the class of 19 10. ;\Ir. Wil-
son then entered the academic department of the University of Minnesota,
at Minneapolis, but in 19 13 he quit school and took employment with vari-
ous attorneys, attending the night law school in the meantime. He gradu-
ated from the law school in 191 5. During school he was manager of the
correspondence for the Radio Sales Company, of Minneapolis, for ten
months. After his graduation, he came hom.e to Royalton and opened a law
office in the Graham block, where he has been engaged in the active practice
of his profession ever since.
On September 19, I9i4. Byron R. Wilson was married to Blanche O.
fSugrue) who was born in AVisconsin, and had lived in Aitkin county,
Minnesota. Mrs. Wilson is the daughter of James Sugrue, a native of
Wisconsin, but who has spent most of his life in the state of Minnesota.
While a student at the University of Minnesota, Mr. Wilson was a
member of the Sigma Nu Greek-letter fraternity. He takes considerable
interest in the fraternity, and is one of its past officers. Air. and Airs. W'W-
son are members of the Ei)isco])al church.
WILLIS C. D.VLLY.
Public opinion, it may be said truthfully, actually rules this country and
there is no institution which has a more profound and far reaching intluence
on jniblic ojiinion than the newspaper. No man exerts a wider and more
far-reaching inlluence for good or evil than the newspaper publisher. Mor-
rison county. Minnesota, has many thriving newspapers, but none which
more thoroughly measures uj) to the needs of the community it undertakes
to servo than the Royalton Ininucr of which Willis C. Dally is editor and
publisher.
Willis C. Dally was born on January 25. 1873, near .\nnandalc, AX'right
county, Minnesota. He is the son of Xathan and Ida ( Shattuck) Daily, the
former of whom was born in 1848 in Bureau count}-, Illinois, where he lived
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 425
until 1856, when he and his parents came to Stearns county, Minnesota.
After Hxing in Stearns county for some three years, the family moved to
Wright county, where the father took a homestead. \Vhen Nathan Dally
was old enough he also took a homestead in the southern part of South Side
township, Wright county. There he lived until 1881. In the meantime he
had operated a saw-mill for a few years. In 1881 he established a saw-
mill at Staples, which he operated for three years. In 1884 the mill was
moved to Eagle Bend, Minnesota, where it was run for eleven vears. In
1895 ^^^- Dally removed to Leech Lake in Cass county, the present site of
Walker, which was founded in that year. Here he built a sixty-foot, stem-
wheel steamboat which he operated on Leech Lake for fourteen years,
carrying freight and passengers. In 1909 he bought one hundred and sixty
acres in LIubbard county, near Laporte, and there he resides at the present
time.
Nathan Dally, who is a Republican, held a number of village and town-
ship offices. He is a member of the Methodist church and the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. Mrs. Ida (Shattuck) Dally was born in Franklin
county, New York, on November 25, 1852, where she lived until 1867,
when, with her parents, she came to Minnesota. They settled near Clear
Water, where she made her home until 1872, when she was married. Mr.
and Mrs. Nathan Dally have had live children, Willis, Mrs. Estella Pennar,
Arthur, Verne and Leila, all of whom have reached maturity.
Educated at Staples and Eagle Bend, Minnesota, Willis C. Dally
attended a business college at Minneapolis. He finished the common schools
in 1891 and for four years was engaged in teaching in the countrv and
village schools of Eagle Bend and vicinity. In January, 1896, Mr. Dally
was employed by W. Fl Hutchinson, who owned a newspaper at Eagle Bend,
originally the Todd County Nnn's but later the Eagle Bend lYezvs. Here
Mr. Dally learned the printer's trade and worked for about eight years.
During that period he was appointed assistant postmaster. In 1900-01,
Mr. Dally spent a year in the service of the Red River Lumber Companv at
Akeley, working in the E. B. Walker mill.
In 1906 Mr. Dall\' removed to Hewitt, Todd county, purchasing the
Hewitt Banner, which he published for eight years. After selling this paper
he purchased the Royalton Banner, at Royalton, and removed to this place
on January 3, 1914. While at Hewitt Mr. Dally purchased forty acres of
land on the edge of town but he sold this farm at the same time that he dis-
posed of his other interests in Hewitt.
On May 7, 1898, Willis C. Dally was married to Jessie Tabor, a native
426 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
of Douglas county, Minnesota, born on Septemberio, 1879. Mrs. Dally is
the daughter of Frank and Lydia (Livernash) Tabor, natives of Minnesota.
Mrs. Dally was educated at Parkers Prairie, where she lived most of her
life until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Dally have had three children, Clare,
Harold and Inez, all of whom are attending school.
As a Republican Mr. Dally has served in several positions of trust and
responsibility. He was village recorder at Walker, Minnesota, village
recorder at Eagle Bend, village recorder at Hewitt for four terms and the
recipient of additional political honors. He considers himself an inde-
pendent Republican, but is an ardent believer in prohibition. He is a mem-
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a past grand, and was a mem-
ber of the grand lodge of 1902. Mr. and Mrs. Dally are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Dally is a steward in the church.
HENRY G.'\SSERT.
A successful farmer of Morrison county, Minnesota, Henry Gassert is
also influential in the political life of the county and is now serving his
second term as commissioner of Morrison county.
Henry Gassert was born on July 25, 1858, at Davenjx)rt, Iowa, and
is the son of Martin and Christina Gassert, the former of whom was born
in Baden on the Rhine, Germany. He was educated in Germany and came
to America with his parents when a young man. They settled in Daven-
port, Iowa, where he became a cook on the lumber rafts running between
Minneapolis and St. Louis, Missouri. He followed this work until the Civil
War broke out, when he enlisted in Company H, Second Wisconsin Cavalry,
serving until he was taken ill with the fever and died in 1863. His wife,
Christina Gassert, was also l)orn in Baden, Germany, and came to America
with her sister. They settled in Illinois but afterward moved to Davenport,
Iowa, where she worked for a year and a half and was then married. Martin
and Christina Gassert were the parents of two children, Henry and Louis.
After the death of Martin Gassert, his widow was married to John C.
Hinder and they immigrated to Minnesota.
Educated in the schools at Hokah, Houston county, Minnesota, Henry
Gassert attended school only about three months each year. Having come
to Houston county, R'linnesota, with the family, Henry Gassert remained
in the county until seventeen years old. On December 9, 1875, ^^ came
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 427
to Pierz and worked by the month on a farm for two years. He was then
married and took up a homestead of forty acres in section 24, of Buh town-
ship. During the next few years, he cultivated this farm and worked in
the woods. Because of hard times he lost the farm ten years later, but in
disposing of the farm was able to pay off his debts and save a yoke of steers,
which he was compelled to buy in on credit. They cost him one hundred
and twenty-five dollars and it required six years to pay off the indebtedness.
About this time, he purchased forty acres of state land in section 12, of Buh
township, for which he paid five dollars an acre. He borrowed thirty per
cent, for the original payment. Counting the interest which he paid on the
purchase price of the steers, they cost him altogether three hundred dollars.
In 1890 Mr. Gassert bought forty acres adjoining his original farm,
later added eighty acres and still later forty acres in section 12. He then
bought one hundred and twenty acres in section i, of Buh township. Here
he was engaged in general stock rai.sing, making a specialty of Durham cattle
and Poland China hogs, draft horses, including Belgians and Percherons. In
November, 19 12, Mr. Gassert sold out and purchased one hundred and
seventy acres in Granite township, moving to Pierz in 1913.
On April 25, 1878, Henry Gassert was married to Louisa Dench, the
daughter of John and Eva Dench, both of whom were natives of Germany.
Mrs. Gassert was one of five children and was born in Houston county,
Minnesota, on November 24, 1858, where she lived until a young woman,
when she accompanied her parents to Morrison county, Minnesota. They
settled near Pierz on a farm, where she lived until her marriage. Mr. and
Mrs. Gassert have had twelve children, Margaret, Mary, Frederick, John,
Henry, Francis, Louie, Anna, Edward, Katherine and two who died early
in life. Margaret married Barney Faust, a farmer of Buh township. They
have four children, Henry, Joseph, Loretta and Barne. Mary married
George L. Boser, a farmer of Buh township. They have nine children,
Henry, Katherine, Clara, and others. Katherine married John Vernig and
has two children.
In 1880 Mr. Gassert was elected treasurer of school district No. 36, a
position which he held for nine years. He then resigned and was elected
township supervisor, a position which he held for fifteen years. In 1910
he was elected county commissioner to fill a vacancy caused by the death of
the incumbent, Peter Vernig. In 1912 he was a candidate for election and
had no opposition on his ticket. Mr. Gassert is a director in the Pierz State
Bank.
The Gassert family are members of the Catholic cliurch. Mr. and
428 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.'*
Mrs. Gassert are members of the St. Joseph Society. Mr. Gassert is treas-
urer of the congregation of St. John's church and has served in this position
for tile past six years.
TIM PERRY.
The following is a short sketch of the career of Tim Perry, the genial
and well-known auctioneer of Little Falls. Belle Prairie township, Morrison
county, Minnesota. In addition to his duties as an auctioneer, in which
capacit)- he is in very great demand, he farms on a large scale and has
more than a local reputation as an expert breeder of Poland China hogs.
To whatever undertaking claims his intereset, Mr. Perry gives the best of
his ability and the success with which he is meeting is but commensurate with
the effort which he puts forth.
Tim Perry is a native of this state, born on March 19, 1862, in
Houston county, a son of Silas C. and Mary E. (Tryon) Perry, being the
eldest of their family of seven children. ]\Ir. Perry's father was a native of
Connecticut, born in Windsor count)-, that state, on June 22, 1827. son of
Timothy and Mollie (Clark) Perry, both natives of Connecticut. Timothy
was a veteran of the War of 181 2. Mr. Perry's mother was born in the
state of New ^'ork on February 12, 1845, and together with her husband
came to this state in 1850, reaching their destination in Houston county on
May 4, of that year. Silas C. Perry was an expert ax-maker by trade, and
after coming to this section he worked as a blacksmith for a few years and
then bought a half-section of land from the government, for which he paid
the sum of one dollar and a quarter per acre. In 1868 he .sold that tract
and moved to Iowa, where he purchased two hundred and forty acres in
.'Mlamakee county, and to the cultivation of that tract he gave some of the
best efforts of his life. In 1802 he retired from active labor and took up
his residence at Storm Lake, Iowa, where his death occurred on March 7,
1914, in the eighty-seventh year of his age. Mr. Perry's mother is still
living at the same place. She is a faithful member of the Methodist Episco-
pal church, ;iu(l in spite of her years takes an active interest in the work of
her church society.
As has been stated, Mr. I'erry is the eldest of his family. The others
are Henrietta, born in Houston county, this state, but now living with the
mother at Storm Lake, Iowa; Ella, wife of Dr. O. Dinsmore, located at Fort
.Mvers, Florida: Edith, wife of H. Halpenny. and now deceased: Lucile,
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 429
Mrs. E. Smith, living at Mason City, Iowa, and a l3oy and girl, who died in
early infancy.
Tim Perry was reared on his father's farm and attended the district
schools of Postville, Iowa. The town at that time was nothing: more than
a small village and the school was conducted in the little log cahin so
familiar to pioneers. However crude the structure, young Tim was able
to lay a good educational foundation on which he has reared a worthy struc-
ture as the years have gone by. In 1882 he went to Favette, Iowa, and in
the university there he took a good business course. A year later found
him in South Dakota, where he homesteaded land but sold out within a
short time and returned to Iowa, where for the next three or four years he
was engaged in farming. He ne.xt went to Tacoma, Washington, where he
clerked in a grocery for a few years, and in 1891 came to Minnesota and
engaged in the grocery business for himself in the city of Minneapolis. He
retained that business but fourteen months, whfen he disposed of it and
returned to his boyhood home near Postville, Iowa, and again engaged in
farming. In 1898 he moved to Dallas county, Iowa, and farmed there
until igoi, when he came to Morrison county, this state, and has since been
actively identified with its agricultural interests. Upon coming here, he
purchased two hundred and forty acres of land, all of which was under
brush at the time with the exception of eighty acres, and on which he has
made extensive improvements. He now owns two hundred and thirty
acres of land, has a comfortable residence, good barns and is at the present
writing erecting a barn, size thirty by forty feet, designed to accommodate
iiay and stock.
Tim Perry was married on Novemlier 24, 1892, to Florence Duesen-
berry, born on July 19, 1874, in Geneseo, Illinois, a daughter of Alfred and
Ellen (Wood) Duesenberry. Her parents were natives of Virginia and
Illinois, respectively, and are still residing at Moline, Illinois, where they
are retired farmers. To Mr. and Mrs. Perry have been born two children,
Magdalene, wife of W. H. Hatfield, of Los Angeles, California, and Scott
C, residing at home with the parents.
Mr. Perry's political preference is with the Republican party and he
holds religious membership in the Congregational church. His fraternal
affiliation is with the Loyal Order of Moose, and when a young man he
united with the Knights of Pythias. He has taken considerable interest in
politics, and in 191 1 was nominated for county clerk of Morrison county
on the Republican ticket, but suffered defeat with his party. Mr. Perry
430 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
has been crying sales since 1890, at which time he attended the school for
auctioneers located at Galesburg, Illinois, and he now cries on an average
of fifty to sixty public sales a year. He possesses in a marked degree those
characteristics which go to the making of a successful auctioneer, and in
view of his success in this profession, as well as his reputation as a farmer
and breeder of Poland China hogs, probably no man in the county has a
wider ac(iuaintance or is more generally liked.
EDWARD H. KERKHOFF.
A native of Stearns county, Minnesota, Dr. Edward H. Kerkhoff,
editor and publisher of the Pier:: Journal, conductor of a three-hundred-
and-twenty-acre farm and the breeder of pure-bred Hereford cattle, Poland
China hogs and Wyandotte chickens, is entitled to rank as one of the fore-
most citizens of Pierz township. By profession he is a physician.
Edward H. Berkhoff is the son of Conrad and Katherine (Wanner)
Kerkhoff, the former of whom was born in the province of Westphalia,
Padcrhorn, Germany, and who, soon after his marriage in Germany, came
to America. He was a cabinetmaker by trade, and after serving his appren-
ticeship, in order to gain experience, traveled on foot from north Germany
through Austria, Hungary, and down the Danube river into European Tur-
key, through the west to Italy. Roumania, Poland, Servia and thence back
to Germany, working at various cities to get the necessary experience in
order that he might become a master mechanic.
After this trip he came to America, working on a United States war
boat during the Mexican War, in 1848, as a mechanic. The boat was sta-
tioned in the Gulf of Mexico, and was shipwrecked with a cargo of horses,
which had to be dumped overboard. Some of the crew took to the boats
and others swam ashore. After leaving the army, Conrad Kerkhoff went
to New Orleans, where he took yellow fever and where for se.veral months
he lay sick with the fever and with lilood poisoning. Later he was a
roustabout on the Mississipi)i river for a couple of years, and then drifted
into Cincinnati, where he followed his trade. This was during the time
of the cholera epidemic, so in Cincinnati he made coffins, working day and
night at his trade. He then established a hand-made furniture factory,
which he later sold.
Afterward Conrad Kerkhoff returned to Europe and then came back
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 43 1
to America and purchased a tract of land at Blue Mound, near Cross Plains,
living there for seven or eight years. He then settled in Stearns county,
Minnesota, buying three hundred and si.xty acres of land, which he farmed
for a period of eleven years. In iS8i he moved to Melrose, Minnesota, and
retired, living there until his death, in 1887, at the age of seventy-five years.
He was a strong Democrat and a member of the German Catholic church.
He held several positions of trust and responsibility. He was the first
treasurer of Spring Hill township, during the period when Nick Hennen
was chairman of the board. His wife, Katherine Wanner, was born at
Stuttgart, Germany. She came to the United States alone and settled first
at Syracuse, New York. Later, however, she moved to Cross Plains, where
she lived when she was married.
Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Kerkhoff had seven children, of whom Earl, the
eldest, and Conrad, Jr., the seventh born, are deceased. The latter died at
the age of three years. The living children are as follow : Anna, who mar-
ried Henry Nietfead, of Stearns county, Minnesota; Mary; Mrs. Elizabeth
Coe; Caroline, who married J. D. Rydholm, of Washington; and Edward,
the subject of this sketch.
Edward H. Berkhoff was educated in the district schools at Melrose,
Minnesota. Afterward he attended the Minneapolis Academy, graduating
in 1896. Subsequently he became an interne at the Minneapolis city hospi-
tal, and later entered Hamlin University at Minneapolis, graduating from
the medical department in 1899. After finishing his medical education, he
came to Pierz, and began to practice on January i, 1900. Doctor Kerkhoff
has practiced here ever since.
In 1904 Doctor Kerkhoff was married to Rose Vorath, the daughter of
John and Josephine (Miller) Vorath. Mrs. Kerkhoff 's parents were natives
of Pierz township and old settlers in this community. Mrs. Kerkhofif was
born in Pierz in 1882, and educated in the parochial schools. Doctor and
Mrs. Kerkhoff have two sons, Milton and Carl, who are attending the
parochial school.
In 1910 Dr. Edward H. Kerkhoff built a fine home on the edge of
Pierz on a tract of seven acres. In addition to the practice of medicine, he
is keenly interested in farming, and especially stock raising, as side lines.
In 1910 he purchased the Pier:: Journal and is now the editor and publisher.
The PzVnsr Journal was established in June, 1909, by H. C. Bailey. After
conducting the paper for a year and three months, he sold it to Doctor
Kerkhoff. Its circulation covers all of the eastern part of Morrison county
from the first line of townships east of the river to the county boundary.
432 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Independent in politics, the Pierc Journal has been the instigator and pro-
moter of the movement, "Clean up your own back}-ard."
Doctor and Mrs. Kerkhoft" are members of the St. Joseph Catholic
church. He is a member of the jjoard of licalth of Pierz and Pierz township.
CHARLES HALL BROWN.
Charles Hall Brown, a well-known druggist of Little Falls, Morrison
county, Minnesota, is a man, who by his own unaided effort, has worked his
way up from a modest beginning to a position of influence and commercial
prominence in the community where he lives. His life has been one of
unceasing industry and perse\'erance and his systematic and honorable busi-
ness methods have won for hiiu the unbnunded confidence of a large patron-
age. The greatness of a community consists not so much in the machinery
of government nor even in its institutions, but rather in the sterling qualities
of individual citizens and in their capacity for high and unselfish efforts.
Charles Hall Brown is a man who fully measures up to the highest standard
of citizenship.
Charles Hall Brown is a native of .Saratoga, New York, born there on
July 5, 1855. He is the .son of Nathan Hollister and Amanda (Hall)
Brown, the former of whom was born in Saratoga, New York, and who.
during the Civil War, served as captain of Company A, Seventy-seventh
Regiment, New "^'ork Volunteer Infantrw lie also served as colonel dur-
ing the illness of the regularly appointed colonel of the Seventy-seventh
regiment. Before the war, he had been engaged in the hmiber and mill
l)usiness, but his health was ruined by service in the war and he died soon
afterward. He was prominent in local Democratic politics in New ^'ork
state and a natural leader in his community. He served one term as a
representative in the lower house of the New York General Assembly, from
the Saratoga district. Mrs. Amanda (Hall) Brown was a native of Sunnv-
side, New York. There were four children born to Nathan H. and .Xm.-mda
(llall) Brown, of whom Charles Hall is the youngest.
Charles Hall Thrown attended the common schools of Saratoga, but
received only a limited education. He was compelled to go to work earlv
in bfe in order to sujjport his mother and three sisters. When he was not
yet ten years old, he went to Detroit. Michigan, and through the efforts of
an ntu-lc obtained a position in a drug store at Detroit. He remained in
CHAKLES 11. lUtOWN
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 433
this store until he was twenty-one years old, and in the meantime thoroughly
learned the drug business. Because of failing health, he accepted a position
as a salesman for the Frederick Stearns Drug Company, of Detroit, and
traveled for them for sixteen years throughout the country, introducing their
product, "The New Idea." After remaining with this firm until 1891, Mr.
Brown came to Little Falls, Minnesota, and established a drug store here,
just across the corner from his present location. Mr. Brown is a registered
pharmacist and has a large business in Little Falls and vicinity.
In 1892 Charles Hall Brown was married to Mary N. Warner, who
was born at Racine, Wisconsin, and who was educated at Racine and at
Chicago, Illinois.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hall Brown are members of the Episcopal
church. Mr. Brown is a Republican in politics. He is a member of Little
Falls Lodge No. 104, Free and Accepted Masons. He is also a past grand
in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
MELCHIOR WERMERSKIRCHEN.
Melchior Wermerskirchen, the proprietor of the Columbia hotel at
Pierz, is a native of Minnesota, born near Jordan, in Scott county, on Janu-
ary 6, 1866, a son of Frank Joseph and Katherine (Smith) Wermerskirchen,
the former of whom was a native of Germany, born at Cologne, in 1807.
There he lived until 1855, when he came to America, settling in Scott county,
Minnesota, on a farm of two hundred and forty acres. Later he added one
hundred and sixty acres, and had at the time of his death, four hundred acres
in all. In his native land, Frank Joseph Wermerskirchen was a farmer and
miller. Mr. Wermerskirchen died in 1S94 at the age of eighty-seven years.
At his death, the old homestead passed to his eldest son, Casimer.
Mrs. Katherine (Smith) Wermerskirchen was born in 1822, at Cologne,
and accompanied her husband and the family to America, in 1855. She died
in 1903, at the age of eighty years, after having borne her husband the fol-
lowing children: Mrs. Caroline Duesterman, Mrs. Yustina Neighbor, Mrs.
Susan Smith, Mrs. Elizabeth Schneiderhau, Casimer, Mrs. Bertha Domler,
Gregor, and Melchoir, the subject of this sketch.
Melchoir Wermerskirchen attended school only nine months in his life,
but, thanks to the careful attention of his father and of his own endeavor,
(28)
434 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
he was able to get a good education. His father's library, at his death, was
appraised at five thousand dollars. The father spoke four languages fluently
and was a highly educated man. It was under his direction that Alelchoir
received his education.
After remaining at home on the farm until fifteen years old, Melchior
Wermerckirchen, in 1883, came to Morrison county, Minnesota, where he
remained until 1885, when he went to Madison, South Dakota, and worked
out by the month for a year. Upon returning to Scott county, he took
charge of the one-hundred-and-si.\ty-acre farm left to him by his father,
which he farmed for five years, until 1890, when he sold out and removed
to Morrison county, buying two hundred and eighty acres in Buh town-
ship, which he farmed for ten years. In 1902 Mr. Wermerskirchen sold
the farm and purchased the saloon at Pierz. Two years later he rebuilt the
structure in which the saloon was housed and made out of it a hotel, which
now has fourteen rooms and which is thoroughly modern.
On November 27, 1888, Melchior Wermerskirchen was married to
Mary K. Hartmann, the daughter of Valentine and Rosalia ( Dealinger)
Hartmann, the former of whom was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany,
May 9, 1835, and who. after coming to America with his parents, settled in
Scott county, Minesota. Valentine Hartmann married Rosalia Dealinger
on September 4, 1858, and lived at Benedict until his death, on April 29,
1915, four days after the death of his wife, who was born on .\ugust 13,
1835, in Germany, and who had come to .America at the age of eighteen
with her parents. They lived in St. Louis a year and then moved to Shako-
pee. They had eight children, as follow : Mrs. Gregor Wermerskirchen,
Mrs. John Seifert, Mrs. Melchior Wermerskirchen, Mrs. John Bruner,
Anton, Valentine M., P. A., and J. B. Mrs. Mary K. (Hartmann) Wer-
merckirchen was born on Januai-y 15. 1867, in Scott county, Minnesota,
where she lived until her marriage. She received her education in Scott
county.
Mr, and Mrs. Melchior Wermerskirchen have had eight children, as
follow: Rosa Adela was born on September 3. 1889, in Scott county and
married John N. I-'aust; they live at Pierz, where he is the manager of the
Burton clothing store; Eugenie Louise. December 9. 1890. in Scott county,
married Francis Gilbright: they live at Pierz and have two children, Milton
and Lea, and Mr. Gilbright is engaged in the jewelry business; Philip Ixo,
born in Pierz on November 12, 1893; Angeline H., June 22, 1893: Hildi-
gard I., April 6, 1897, '^ now teaching school; Theresa L., June 2y, 1899;
Nicholas A., February 8, 1901 ; Hugo T., April jy, 1904.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 435
Mr. and Mrs. Wermerckirchen are members of the Pierz Catholic
church. Mr. Wermerckirchen is a member of the Catholic Order of For-
esters. He owns a business block on Main street in Pierz besides the hotel
business. He also owns considerable wild land in Pierz township.
ETHEL M. EHR.
Ethel M. (Covert) Ehr, to whom this brief outline refers, has been
honored with the appointment, by our government, to an office of trust and
efficiency, and she has reflected credit upon that position. Ethel M. Covert
was born on June 9, 1879, at Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is the daughter
of Enoch M. and Arietta (Geary) Covert, to whom five children were born,
as follow: Ethel M., living in Randall, Morrison county, Minnesota;
James, a farmer at Lindsay, Montana; Walter, a brakeman, who lives at
Dillworth, Minnesota; Raymond, a school teacher living in Montana, and
Lillian J. (Mrs. Sullivan), at Lindsay, Montana.
The father of Ethel M. Covert, Enoch M. Covert, was born in 1847,
in Missouri, and followed the trade of cooper. In 1875 he removed to
Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he was employed in the cooperage business
until 1887, at which time he transferred his business relations to Thorp,
Wisconsin, where he worked as a teamster for seven years. By his frugal
industry, Enoch M. Covert accumulated some wealth and in 1894 removed
to Parker township, Minnesota, where he purchased eighty acres of land,
which he cultivated and improved with buildings. Four years later he
went west, to Pasco, Washington, in which town he died in 1914. The
mother of Ethel M. Covert, Arietta (Geary) Covert, was born in 1859 in
Pennsylvania, and now resides at Lindsay, Montana.
"Teaching the young idea how to shoot,!' requires not only a proper
education but the aptitude of a well-disciplined mind, cultivated with patience
and an inborn love of the art. Ethel M. Covert received her education in
the schools of Thorp, Wisconsin, and having graduated from the eighth
grade, began the duties of a school mistress and taught her first term at the
age of eighteen years, in the district school located in Clark county, Wis-
consin. Two years later she resumed the duties of her favorite vocation and
taught in Morrison county, Minnesota. Some time later she taught two
terms at Randall, Minnesota.
In 1905 Ethel M. Covert was united in marriage to Nicholas Ehr, who
436 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
was born in 1877, at Portage, Wisconsin. Nicholas Ehr was the station
agent at Randall, Minnesota, and the short duration of this marriage was
broken by his untimely death in 1908. From this union two children were
born, Evangeline and Josephine.
In her fraternal relations, Ethel M. (Covert) Ehr is a member of the
Royal Neighbors, of Randall, Minnesota. In 1898 she was honored with
the appointment of postmistress at Randall, Minnesota, and is the owner of
the realty comprising the postoffice property. She also owns other valuable,
unimproved properties at Randall, Minnesota.
Ethel M. (Covert) Ehr is a woman of sterling worth, a good mother,
an obliging, companionable neighbor, a friend, faithful and true, in her
business relations capable and honest and as postmistress of Randall, she
is beloved by all.
GEORGE N. CHIRHART.
George N. Chirhart, a well-known implement dealer of Royalton, Mor-
rison county, Minnesota, has been closely identified with the industrial history
of Morrison county and especially of the country around Royalton. He
represents a high type of the enterprising, energetic young business man.
George N. Chirhart was born in Stearns county, Minnesota, in 1888,
the son of Isadore and Mary (Thierse) Chirhart. Isadore Chirhart was
born in New York state in 1850 and came to Stearns county, Minnesota,
when twenty-one years old. There he took a homestead of one hundred and
sixty acres and his mother also took a homestead adjoining that of her son,
which he later acquired. Isadore Chirhart, who is still living, is an ardent
Democrat and has held several similar offices, including those of assessor
and trustee. His wife was born near Evansville, Indiana, and came with
her parents to Stearns county, Minnesota, where her parents took up land.
She lived with them until her marriage. Eleven children have l)een born to
Isadore and Mary (Thierse) Chirhart.
George N. Chirhart received his education principally in the little old-
fashioned school house, district No. 12, in Stearns county. After finishing
his education he remained at home with his father until about eighteen
years old, when he engaged in partnership with his brother, Henry, in a
saw-mill at Brockway, Minnesota. They managed the business together
for about six years and were prosperous and successful. In 1913 Mr.
Chirhart went to western Canada and remained for about six months, look-
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 437
ing for land. He came back to the United States and settled in Royalton,
where, in 1914, he purchased one-half interest in the implement store across!
from the Royalton depot, from J. M. Cairns. A little later he purchased
the other half interest in the business.
George N. Chirhart was married to Stuvanah Stewart, a native of
Minnesota, and to them have been born three children, Robert, George and
Irene.
Mr. and Mrs. Chirhart are members of the Catholic church. Mr.
Chirhart is independent in politics.
ANDREW W. HONSTROM.
It is always pleasant and profitable to contemplate the career of a man
who has won a definite goal in life and whose career has been such as to
command the honor and respect of his fellow citizens. Such, in brief, is the
record of the well-known creamery man whose name heads this sketch, and
in justice to him it may be added that he has not only won a pleasing degree
of success along material lines, but he stands high in the confidence and
esteem of a large circle of friends and acquaintances. He labors not only
for his individual advancement, but is broad-minded enough to wish to
include in his own success the well-being of the community in which he has
chosen to make his home. Mr. Honstrom has demonstrated that he is the
possessor of some pleasing attributes, among them being ambition and an
honest desire to succeed, and it is with pleasure the biographer takes this
opportunity of setting before the public a few facts relative to his career.
Andrew W. Honstrom is a native of the state of Iowa, born in Boone
county on December 31, 1873, a son of Andrew and Hildia (Larson)
Honstrom, both of whom were bom in Sweden. Andrew, the elder, was
born in 1836, and Hildia, his wife, six years later. After their marriage,
and when Andre was about twenty-five years of age, they immigrated to
this country and went directly to Iowa, where they found many others of
their nationality. Andrew secured work in a coal mine, where he continued
until the time of his death, in 1881. He was succeeding in a modest way
and at the time of his death was the owner of one hundred and sixty acres
of good land, which was handed down to the estate. The mother passed
away in IQ09 and both of Mr. Honstrom's parents lie buried at Swede
\'^alley, Iowa.
438 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Andrew W. Honstrom, the immediate subject of this sketch, was one
of a family of ten children, six of whom are living at the present time. He
received his education in the district schools of Boone county, where he was
raised and remained at home until the year 1901, being engaged in work on
the home farm and hiring out to other farmers of the neighborhood. He
was filled with an ambition to do other than agricultural work, and as the
first step toward the goal he had in mind he entered Ames .Agricultural Col-
lege, Ames, Iowa, in 1901. There he spent the following eighteen months
as a student in the dairy course, and after completing his studies he secured
a position as manager of a skimming station in Berkeley, Iowa. However,
he remained there but a short time and in 1903 came to the state of Minne-
sota and secured a position with a creamery in Todd county. A short time
later he came to Morrison county, securing a like position, and in the year
1904 he came to Randall, this county, and secured the position as manager
of the Randall Co-operative Creamery Company. Mr. Honstrom is an
expert butter-maker and is scientifically versed in the handling of milk and
its products. From the first of his connection with the above named firm
he has rendered most efficient service and is at the present time a share-
holder in the business he so well conducts. He has become one of the
established and respected citizens of the town and is the owner of real
estate, consisting of his residence and two lots.
On February 19, 1908, Andrew W. Honstrom was united in marriage
to Nannie Lucas, who was born on September 27, 1882, in Motley, Morri-
son county, a daughter of Franklin and Lina ( Crandall) Lucas. The
Lucases were both natives of Pennsylvania and were among the early settlers
of this county. While they are now residents of the state of Idaho, they
lived here for a goodly number of years. Mr. Lucas being identified with
the lumljer business and known as a large owner and manager of saw-mills.
To Mr. and Mrs. Honstrom have been born a family of three children,
namely: Ruth, born in 1909, while the family lived at Little Falls; Burton,
born in 1910, and Andrew, bom in 1912, the latter two being born in
Randall.
In politics, Mr. Honstrom votes independently, l>eing lx)und to no party
platform whatever. He holds his fraternal affiliation with the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows through the local society at Ogdcn. Iowa. While
not a member of any religious society, he is an attendant on the services
of the church and gives of his means toward the cause. Mr. Honstrom
takes a keen interest in any plant for the advancement of the interests of the
town of Randall and is now a valued member of the city council. His life
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 439
has been one of unceasing industry and perseverance, and the systematic
and honorable methods he has followed are bringing to him not only material
success, but that which a true man values still higher — the unbounded con-
fidence and respect of those who know him best.
GEORGE O. NELSON.
Although not an old man in years, the gentleman whose life record is
hereinafter outlined has stamped his individuality upon the community
where he resides in no uncertain manner, being an excellent representative
of that much-heralded type — the American business man who does things.
He is meeting with success along his chosen line of endeavor and bids fair
to attain to still more gratifying things as the years roll by, as he is pos-
sessed of pleasing characteristics which win and keep for him the friendship
and confidence of those with whom he comes in contact.
George O. Nelson, hardware merchant and funeral director of Randall,
Morrison county, Minnesota, is a native of this state, having been born in
Steele county on November 14, 1875, son of Robert and Bertha Nelson,
farmers of that county. George was reared on the farm, attending the
district schools near his home, and from his early boyhood he assisted his
father with the work of the home place. He remained under the parental
roof until he was twenty-eight years of age. and having by that time decided
that he wished his life to lay in other than agricultural work, he left home
and secured a position as clerk in a grocery store, where he remained for one
year. He again engaged in farming with his parents, remaining there
three years, but the call to other fields was still insistent and in 1910 he
came to Randall, and in partnership with his brother, he engaged in the
furniture and hardware business. They succeeded well from the start, and,
with the desire of widening his opportunities, Mr. Nelson went to St. Paul,
where he became a student in the art of embalming under Professor John-
son, a recognized authority on that subject. He was duly graduated from
that institution and has been meeting with pleasing success in his chosen
field of endeavor, being possessed of many kindly qualities, which win for
him the highest esteem of those needing his services at one of the most
trying times of life.
George O. Nelson was united in marriage in 1912 to Emma Schwanke,
who was born on February 5, 1889, in Carver county, this state, a daughter
440 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
of August and Amelia (Rebischke) Schwanke, both of whom were born in
Germany. To Mr. Nelson and wife has been born one child. Evelyn B.,
born on July 26, 19 14.
Mr. Nelson has established himself as a citizen of the town and is the
owner of a nice residence property containing about two and one-half acres
within the town limits. He holds his religious membership with the Luth-
eran church and gives his political support to the Republican party, being a
representative for his party on the town council at the present time.
Because of his genial and unassuming disposition and his genuine worth,
Mr. Nelson enjoys a well-deserved popularity throughout this section.
CLINTON E. CHAPMAN.
This brief record of Clinton E. Chapman can only touch upon the
sterling qualities which he possesses and the esteem in which he is held by
his fellow townsmen. The positions of trust and contidence which he has
filled have placed him upon a high pedestal of integrity; the years of unceas-
ing activity, in jjersonal affairs and public office, have classed him as a man of
advanced, natural ability to accomplish results, and during his business career
a snug fortune has been accumulated.
Clinton E. Chapman was born on August 22, 1872, in Dodge county,
Minnesota, and is the son of Oren and Frances (Price) Chapman, to whom
four children were born: Ali)ert, deceased; W'illiam L., living in Traverse
City, Michigan ; Clinton E. Chapman, a banker at Randall, IMorrison county,
Minnesota, and Frank B., who is in Livingston, Montana. The father of
these children was born in New York state in 1844, ^"^i with his parents
immigrated to Wisconsin and became interested in agriculture. During)
the first year of the Civil War, in 1861, Oren Chapman responded to his
country's call and enlisted at Randolph, Wisconsin, in Company A, of the
Second Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. He served through all
the montiis of this great struggle and was discharged in 1865. .\t the ter-
mination of the war he returned to Wisconsin, and about the year 1867
settleii in Dodge county, Minnesota, where he engaged in farming until
1884, thence removing to Madison Lake, Minnesota, at which place he
lived for ten years. During 1894 he came to Randall, Minnesota, where his
death occurred in 1904.
Born at Moline, Illinois, in 1844, Frances (Price) Chapman, the daugh-
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 44I
ter of William Price, is now living in Randall, Minnesota. Oren Chapman,
in his religious faith, was a Presbyterian and his wife, Frances (Price)
Chapman, is a member of the Episcopalian church.
The early life of Clinton E. Chapman was devoted to agricultural pur-
suits and he obtained his education at the district schools until, at the age of
twenty-one, he came to Randall, Minnesota, and purchased two hundred
acres of land in Parker township, and on this property, with the help of his
father, cleared a small tract of land, which he cultivated for nearly five
years, later moving to the town of Randall.
At this period of his life Clinton E. Chapman entered the mercantile
field by clerking in a general merchandise store until 1906, when he was
appointed postmaster of Randall, Minnesota, from which public office he
resigned in 1907, accepting the position of cashier in the Randall State Bank,
continuing in this executive capacity until the present time, which position
he has filled with honor to himself and with perfect satisfaction to the
bank. Since coming to Randall, Clinton E. Chapman has shown himself to
be a conservative man with surpassing judgment and ability, and now, at
the age of forty-three, he is a prominent stockholder in the bank with which
he is connected, the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land, in
Todd and Morrison counties, Minnesota, and also the possessor of other
properties at Randall, where he has erected a modern bungalow, thirty-two
by thirty-two feet.
Although so actively engaged with his business connections, throughout
these years, Clinton E. Chapman consented to act in an important official
capacity for his section and was elected county treasurer, in which office he
served for a four years' term.
In 1893 Clinton E. Chapman was united in marriage to Lottie M.
Maxon, who was born on September 24, 1874, at Orleans county. New
York, and who was the daughter of George and Margaret (Garrison)
Maxon, both parents being natives of the Empire state.
George Maxon came to Minnesota in 1877 and located in Cottonwood
county, where he settled on a tree claim, afterward removing to Anoka,
"Minnesota, the town in which he and his wife are now living. Standing
ready to serve his country in the time of peril, George Maxon enlisted in
1861 for service in the Civil War, at Tonawanda, New York, and was
wounded in the shoulder at the memorable battle of Cold Harbor. He was
discharged in 1865.
Two children have made happy the home of Clinton E. and Lottie M.
442 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
(Maxon) Chapman, Bernice (Mrs. Craighead), located at Lincoln, Minne-
sota, and Oren G., who is living at home.
Mr. Chapman is a Republican. He attends the Presbyterian house of
worship for his religious inspiration. H is a member of the Free and
Accepted Masons, of Little Falls, Minnesota, and of the Modern Woodmen
of America, of Randall, Minnesota.
NELS O. WAAGE.
The success of the average Norwegian who immigrated to America is
not a (|uestion of chance, for the Norwegian has not succeeded by chance
but from the sheer force of a determination, which crowds obstacles aside,
no matter the labor necessary or the sacrifice to be made. These people
have been inured from birth to the free, open, robust life on the mountains
and plains of their native country. They have immigrated to this country
for the purpose of providing homes for themselves and families and they
have succeeded.
Nels Olson Waage, one of these immigrants, was born on October 20,
1843, in Norway, and is the son of Ole Nelson and Liva (Osman) Waage.
To this union seven children were born, five of whom are living. Ole Nelson
Waage and Liva (Osman) Waage were about the same age and were born
and reared in Norway, where their entire lives were spent and' where their
deaths occurred. Ole Nelson Waage was engaged in the occupation of
farming during his life and passed away a short time after the death of hisi
wife, at the advanced age of eighty years.
Leaving his native country in 1S71, Nels Olson Waage emigrated to
.America and located at Braidwood, Illinois, where he worked as a farm
hand for one and one-half years and then worked as a carpenter, which
trade he had learned in Norway. Tn 1880 he went to Kansas and purchased
one hundred and sixty acres of land in Jewell county. This property he
improved and cultivated until the year of i8S(), when he came to Morrison
county, Minnesota, where he bought a tract of land consi.sting of three
biimheil and twenty acres in section ig in Belle Prairie township. On
this property he erected a small dwelling, twenty-eight by twenty-four feet,
also a stable thirty-two by thirty-two feet. During 1892 he dis])Osed of the
farm in Kansas and increased his holdings to four hundred acres, all in
Belle Prairie townshi]). On this land Nels Olson Waage has liecome prom-
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 443
inent as a breeder of Red Polled cattle and in his exhibits of farm products
many prizes have been awarded him. At the present time, on this farm,
sixty acres of corn is under cultivation.
On March lo, 1878, Nels Olson Waage was united in marriage to Anna
Sirana Oneson, who was born on May 25, i860, in Grundy county, Illinois,
the daughter of Peter and Carrie Oneson, both natives of Norway. Peter
Oneson was born on November 26, 1832, in Norway and is now living in
Palo Alto county, Iowa, and has retired from active farming. Anna Sirana
Oneson was born on February 2, 1829, in Norway. She still enjoys good
health.
Eight children graced the home of Nels Waagei and Anna Sirana
(Oneson) Waage, namely: Carl A., born in 1879, and died in 1880;
Stephen B., October 28. 1881, and now living at home; Ole B., October 4.
1884, being at home; Caroline (Mrs. Forman), August 7, 1890, resides in
Morrison county, Minnesota; Peter T., February 17, 1897, living at home;
Lena C, deceased; Bertha M., November 8, 1901, living at home, and
Peter, deceased.
Nels Olson Waage is a Republican. In matters pertaining to the church
he is a consistent member of the Norwegian Lutheran church. Industry
and determination have been the dominant factors in the steady accumula-
tion of his wealth, and he is a worthy representative of that intelligent and
thrifty nation which he left to become a loyal American citizen.
OLAF MALM.
A sketch which has to deal with a person who has overcome the bar-
riers incident to the immigrant to a new and strange country, particularly
if that person has started in the struggle empty handed, presents a story well
worth being incorporated in a work of this character. Such a story is pre-
sented by the biography of the subject of this sketch.
Olaf Malm, a progressive farmer of Belle Prairie township, Morrison
county, Minnesota, and the proprietor of one hundred and twenty acres of
well-improved land in this township, was born on August 22, 1862, in
Sweden, the son of Perry and Chastie (Bensen) Malm, both natives of
Sweden. Perry Malm was a laborer in Sweden and remained in his native
land during his entire life. He died at the age of thirty-six, when his son,
Olaf, was quite young. The mother, Chastie (Bensen) Malm, also remained
444 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
in Sweden during her entire life. Four children, of whom Olaf Malm was
the eldest, were born to Mr. and Mrs. Malm.
Olaf Malm lived in Sweden with his parents until he had attained the
age of sixteen years, at which age he left his native land and emigrated to
Denmark, where he remained until 1890. In 1890 he came to the United
States and settled in Cook county, Illinois. While there he worked as a
farm hand and continued to do so until 1902, when he moved to Morrison
county, Minnesota. Upon his arrival at his new home, Mr. Malm purchased
two hundred and eighty acres of well-improved land in Belle Prairie town-
ship, and, being a man who firmly believed in improvements, soon had
erected sheds and barns on his new possession. Later he sold a portion of
his land until, at the present time, he owns and operates but one hundred
and twenty acres. He is deeply interested in stock raising and keeps high-
grade stock of all kinds. Besides being a farmer, Mr. Malm is a stock-
holder in the telephone company of Belle Prairie township and one of the
original organizers of the company.
Mr. Malm attends the Lutheran church and is deeply interested in the
affairs of that church. Politically, he is an independent voter, being more
concerned with the character and adaptability of the candidate than the
adherence to a party.
GEORGE CALHOUN.
During the years which have marked the development and expansion
of the great and wondrously rich western section of this country, the very
pick, as it were, of the young men and women from the older and more
populous sections of North America, have gone forth to that frontier and
carvctl (lut the fabulous riches of iron, coal and lumber. In these pioneers,
with a wealth of strength and ability, have lain the hopes and destinies of
the great state of Minnesota.
The parents of George Calhoun, the subject of this brief review, were
l)art and parcel of the West, and one of the many homesteaders on the
fertile prairies of South Dakota, where the early settlers were the determin-
ing factor in the i>resent wealth of this country. On their judgment and the
strength of their labors depended the settlement and building of one of the
richest, natural expanses of country in the world.
George Calhoun was a fit subject to inherit from birth the task and
opportunity to bring forth, from that undeveloped section, riches for him-
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 445
self and service to his community. He came from sturdy Irish parentage
and was born on July 2, 1888, at Desmet, South Dakota, and is the son of
George and Margtierite (Duggan) Calhoun, to whom nine children were
born, six of whom are living. The father of George Calhoun, George Cal-
houn, Sr., was born on July 10, 1853, at Owen Sound, Canada, where he
acquired the trade of harness and shoemaker, and in 1883 immigrated to
this country and, with the hardy pluck of his race, homesteaded a tract of
land in Kinsburg county. South Dakota. Irjiproving this property for a
period of eleven years, he sold out and moved to Clare, Iowa, where he
worked at his trade of harness making for four years, removing to Randall,
Minnesota, where, for a time, he was occupied with various pursuits. Finally,
in 1905, he opened a butcher shop, which he conducted until his death,
February 29, 1908.
The father and mother of George Calhoun, Sr., Henry and Mary
(O'Connor) Calhoun, were natives of New York state and Dublin, Ireland,
respectively. Henry Calhoun eventually moved to Canada, where the birth
of George Calhoun, Sr., occurred. Marguerite (Duggan) Calhoun was
born on July i, 1859, in Canada, and was the daughter of Cornelius and
Mary (Coleman) Duggan. She was reared and lived on the home farm
until her marriage. The death of Marguerite (Duggan) Calhoun occurred
on August 23, 1911, and she was buried beside her husband in the cemetery
at Randall, Minnesota.
Inured to the healthy boyhood life of the farm, George Calhoun, Jr.,
obtained his education from the schools of that section, together with a
course of study in the parochial school at Clair, Iowa. He remained with
his parents until about the time of his marriage and began to learn the general
trade and business qualifications necessary in the slaughtering and meat
market profession, in which capacity he served for three years, and in 1912
came to Randall, Minnesota, where he began operations for himself. More
than ordinary success has attended his endeavors in the butchering and
market business, and his well-equipped store denotes the liberal patronage
which he enjoys. Identifying himself at once with the active interests of
his town, George Calhoun purchased stock in the creamery at Randall and
also has money invested in realty.
George Calhoun was married in 19 12 to Clara Portz, who is descended
from German parentage. She was born on April 19, 1892, in South Dakota
and is the daughter of Michael and Marguerite (Keiter) Portz. Michael
Portz is a trusted employe of the South Dakota Central railroad, being
engaged in the important capacity of locomotive engineer.
446 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
To the happv union of George Calhoun and Clara Portz, two children
have been born, George and Marguerite. In politics, George Calhoun is an
independent voter. Men with the character of George Calhoun can be
depended upon to act wisely in all serious emergencies as they arise.
In religious affairs George Calhoun is a member of the Catholic church.
He has never been an aspirant for public office, but as a business man he
ranks high in the esteem and confidence of the public. He is courteous and
affable with his associates, public-spirited in principle, and his wholesome
private and .social life has placed him in the front ranks as one of Minne-
sota's influential citizens.
ALBERT O. NELSON.
Conspicuous among the representative business men and public-spirited
citizens of Randall, Morrison county, is the well-known gentleman whose
name forms the caption of this article. Being ambitious from the first, Mr.
Nelson faced the future resolutely, gradually surmounted the difficulties in
his way and in due time rose to a prominent position in the commercial
circles of his community, at the same time, because of his great desire to
hcl]> his fellow citizens, winning their confidence and esteem.
.Albert O. Nelson was born on May 21, 1863, at La Crosse, Wisconsin,
the son of Edward and Bertha (Olson) Nelson, both natives of Norway, the
former born in 183-', and the latter on .August 5, 1838.
Like many another pioneer of Morrison county. Edward Nelson left
his native land early in life and risked the dangers incidental to a long and
perilous voyage to the United States. Upon his arrival in America, he
pushed toward the west and in due time arrived in Chicago, being at the
time just eighteen years of age. Here he worked on a farm at first, but,
having learned the blacksmith trade in Norway, soon followed that vocation.
In the course of the next few years he worked in various saw-mills and on
different railroads and soon established for himself the enviable reputation
of being one of the best blacksmiths available in that .section of the countr>-.
In 1885 Edward Nelson removed to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he dis-
played his ability as an organizer by helping to organize a union known as
the "blacksmith's union," which is at the present time well known in
La Crosse. In 1870 he went to Steele county. Minnesota, where he lx)ught
land and farmed for a short time with his son, .Mlx-rt O. Nelson, the subject
of this biographical review. Father and son continued to farm together
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 447
until 1910, when the farm was sold and Edward Nelson retired and moved
to New Richmond, where he died in 1914.
Bertha (Olson) Nelson, the mother of Albert O., left Norway with
her parents when only ten years old and settled with her parents in Wiscon-
sin, where she met Mr. Nelson and was married. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson
endured the privations of pioneer life and endured the hardships that are
incident to a new and undeveloped country. They raised a family of ten
children, six hoys and four girls, of whom five boys and three girls are
living. The mother of these children survives her husband and is residing
at the present time in New Richland.
Reared on the farm of his parents, Albert O. Nelson attended the dis-
trict schools of Steele county and received a good elementary education. At
the age of twenty-two his' ambition led him to the decision to learn a trade.
He started to work as a farm hand and for several years was employed in
various kinds of work. In 1899, however, his ambition was realized by his'
'success in learning the tinner's trade at New Richland. For some years he
worked in a hardware store, until 1898, when he and his brother, George,
engaged in farming at Lac qui Parle county, Minnesota, after purchasing
one hundred and sixty acres of land. Mr. Nelson farmed for two years, at
the expiration of which time he sold his share of the farm and returned to
New Richland, where he again was employed in a hardware store and lum-
ber yard.
In 1901 Mr. Nelson immigrated to Morrison county, and purchasing-
eighty acres of land in Parker township again took up the vocation of hus-
bandry, after having cleared a portion of the land. In 1908 his ambition to
again become engaged in commercial pursuits led him to retire from agricul-
ture. He moved to Randall and rented a small building, where, upon his
own responsibility, he started a small hardware store and continued as its
sole proprietor until 1910, when his brother, George, came into the business
as a partner. By cutting timber from his farm, Albert O. Nelson, with the
aid of his brother, built a shop and residence in Randall and soon had the
gratification of owning four thousand dollars' worth of hardware and furni-
ture. Besides his interest in the hardware store, Mr. Nelson owns various
residences and building lots in Randall.
In 1896 Albert O. Nelson was married to Lena Tyrholm, who was born
in 1866, at Faribault, Minnesota, the daughter of Nels and Hanna (Brom-
burg) Tyrholm, the former of whom was a cabinetmaker, whose native
home was in Norway. To Mr. and Mrs. Albert O. Nelson have been born
two children, Norman and Carl. Norman graduated from the Randall
448 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
schools and is now a member of the Randall band. Both Carl and Nor-
man live at home with their parents.
Though an independent voter, Mr. Nelson has taken an active part in
the political activities of Randall, having served on the town council and is
now foreman of the fire department. He and his wife are actively identified
with the Lutheran church. Albert O. Nelson is known in his community
as a man of upright business principles, and but few men in his vicinity
stand higher in the estimation of the public. He is widely known as a man
of strictly honest business methods and upright principles in every walk of
life.
NELS NELSON BERGHEIM.
The greatness of a community consists not so much in the machinery
of its government or even in its institutions, but rather in the sterling qual-
ities of individual citizens and their capacity for high and unselfish efforts
and patrotic devotion to the public welfare. In these particulars it may be
said that Nels Nelson Bergheim, who is a lawyer by profession, has con-
ferred honor and dignity upon the county, where he has lived for the past
twenty years. He has been identified prominently with almost every phase
of the county's progress and today is known throughout the county as one
of its most highly esteemed and valuable citizens.
Nels Nelson Bergheim is a native of Norway, born in Nordfjord, the
province of Bergen, Norway, October 15, 1869. Mr. Bergheim came to
America at the age of sixteen, and for the next ten years resided in South
Dakota, where he attended the common school, the normal school and the
univresily at Vermilion. In 1895 he entered the University of Minnesota
and two years later was graduated from the academic and nomial colleges of
the university, after which he taught school for one year, when he took up
the study of law.
Mr. Bergheim was admitted to the Minnesota bar in June. tqoi. and
shortly thereafter located at Little Falls, Minnesota, where for the past four-
teen years he has been engaged in the practice of law. During this period
he has built up a large and lucrative practice which is not confined alone to
Morrison county, but which extends to adjoining counties. Mr. Berg-
heim is a learned counsellor and practices in the county, state and federal
courts. He has been a most painstaking student, especially in the modern
tendencies of statutory law and of the disposition of the courts to adjust
NF.I.S X. I'.F.IJCIIF.IM
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 449
the law as demanded by changed and changing social and industrial condi-
tions.
Mr. Bergheim is a Democrat and has always taken an interest in
political matters. He was a candidate for the Legislature in 1906 and for
secretary of state in 19 14. For eight years Mr. Bergheim was a member
of the Democratic state central committee and for twelve years he was
secretary-treasurer of the Democratic committee of Morrison county.
Mr. Bergheim has always taken an active interest in public matters in
his home town, and for many years his office has been the headquarters for
the boosters of Little Falls. He has actively supported every enterprise
having for its purpose the improvement of his city and county financially,
morally and socially. In this connection he has held the offices of president
of the -Commercial Club, president of the board of public works for eight
years and is at present president of the Civic League, secretary of the Busi-
ness Men's Association, of the Chautauqua Association and of the Morrison
County Co-operative Agricultural Society. Mr. Bergheim has also given
his assistance and support to churches and fraternal societies, and for ten
years has been superintendent of one of the Sunday schools of his home
city. He is, therefore, a well-rounded, broad-minded, alert and active
citizen, whose spirit of tolerance, friendliness and good-will have won for
him a host of friends throughout this section of Minnesota.
JOHN WETZEL.
John Wetzel, vice-president of the German-American National Bank, of
Little Falls, Morrison county, Minnesota, and one of that city's most prom-
inent citizens, was bom in Elgin. Illinois, October 24, 1856, a son of Val-
entine and Angeline (Rheinart) Wetzel, both of whom were natives of
Germany. Angeline Rheinart was born in Treir and when a young girl was
brought to the United States by her parents, who settled at Elgin, Illinois,
and it was there she met and married Valentine Wetzel. Valentine Wetzel
was born near Worms on May 5, 1826, and when quite a young man he
emigrated to the United States. After a tedious voyage in the old-time sail-
boats, he landed in New York and from there went on to Chicago. He
settled in the latter city and there learned the cooper's trade, which he fol-
lowed most of the active years of his life. After remaining in Chicago for
(29)
450 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES^ MINNESOTA.
seven years, he moved to Elgin, Illinois, where he remanied about eight
years, and then returned to Chicago. He lived in that city during the years
of the Civil War, and after the close of the war, with the great influx of
population into the western and northern states, he went to St. Cloud,
Minnesota. There he opened up a cooper business for himself and so con-
tinued for a number of years. In the latter part of his life, \'alentine
Wetzel was engaged in the retail meat business, giving five years to that
occupation, and then he retired to spend the remainder of his days quietly.
He died in 1913 — when eighty-five years of age. Valentine Wetzel was a
communicant of the Roman Catholic church, and he gave his political sup-
port to the Democratic party.
John Wetzel, the immediate suliject of this sketch, was the eldest of a
family of six children, two of whom died in infancy, and the remaining
four are all li\ing. As a boy he attended the public schools of the city of
Chicago, receiving his higher grade work in St. Cloud, followed by two
years of study in the St. Cloud normal school. After his school days were
over, he secured a clerkship in a drug store in St. Cloud and took up the
study of i)harmacy. A little later, when he had become more proficient in
his chosen field, he purchased a one-third interest in a drug store in that
city, remaining therein for a year and a half, at which time he disposed of
his business and came to Little Falls. That was in 1878 and he immediately
purchased a one-half interest in the drug Ijusiness. which f(5r the following
five years was known as the Rhodes & Wetzel Drug Company.
In 1883 Mr. Wetzel purchased his partner's interest and continued the
business imder his own name until 1892, when he sold out and became
cashier of the German-American National Bank, being a heavy stockholder
in that institution. He acted as cashier of the banking institution until
1910. when he was made its vice-president and continues in that relation.
During the years he has been a resident of Little Falls, Mr. Wetzel has been
numbered amongst the foremost citizens of the town. While attending
primarily to his own affairs, and most anxious for their advancement, he
still linds ample time to show his interest in civic matters and has always
been in the front rank of those advocating any measure which would lead
to the advancement of the moral, material, social or educational welfare of
the city. In politics, Mr. Wetzel is an indepenedent voter, but was formerly
a Democrat, and as a member of that jiarty he was appointed postmaster
of Little Falls in 1885, being the first Democrat to receive a l'>(leral appoint-
ment in that city. At that time, Mr. Wetzel was serving as chairman of the
county commissioners and was also a member of the city council. In addi-
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 45 1
tion to these offices he served as village treasurer for a few terms, and in
the discharge of the various duties which have fallen to his lot from time to
time he has met with the approval of all, as he proved himself most capable
and efficient.
In addition to the city real estate which he owns, Mr. Wetzel owns land
in Morrison and Crow Wing counties and also has a fine stock farm in
Morrison county, where he has an excellent strain of Shorthorn cattle. Mr.
Wetzel holds his religious membership in the French Catholic church and
his fraternal affiliation in the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks, having at one time served as trustee for the latter
organizatfon. He is also a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters and
had the honor of being the first chief ranger of that order.
John Wetzel was married on April 29, 1882, to Carrie Beaugnot, who
was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, a daughter of John and Carrie A. Beaug-
not, both natives of the United States. To that union has been born one
child. Earl V., who is located in Little Falls, where he is proprietor of one
of the leading jewelry stores.
ALFRED WILSON.
It is with pleasure the biographer herewith presents a short sketch of
the life of Alfred Wilson, one of the most prominent citizens of Motley,
Morrison county, Minnesota, for the history of Mr. Wilson's life from the
time he first came to this section, is closely intertwined with the history of
the town itself. He is a man of great ability and has been interested in
many business enterprises, all tending to the general advancement of his
chosen place of residence. He has filled an unique place in the life of the
community and has demonstrated what may be accomplished by a man of
energy and ambition by his well-directed efforts in the practical affairs of
life, his sound judgment and his capable management of the different phases
of business life to which he has given his attention. Mr. Wilson has long
been identified with the lumber business and is one of the best contractors
throughout this section, many buildings standing as monuments to his skill
and workmanship in this line.
Alfred Wilson was born on April 19, 1854, in Iroquois county, Illinois,
a son of Samuel and Emily (Bean) Wilson, there being at the present time
but two remaining out of their family of eight children. Samuel Wilson
452 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1831, and throughout his life followed
the vocation of farming. He came westward in the early days and located
first in Illinois, where he remained but a comparatively short time, and then
rnoved to Bremer county, Iowa. He was the owner of a considerable tract
of land in that county and was one of its leading farmers up to the time of
his death. Special mention is due Samuel Wilson, in that he was one of
those faithful sons of the Nation who laid aside their private interests, left
their young and growing families, and laid their lives upon the Nation's
altar, if need be, in order to preserve the integrity of the Union. He enlisted
at Waverly, Iowa, in 1861, as a private in Company I, Thirty-fourth Regi-
ment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and saw much active service. He received
his honorable discharge near Memphis, Tenessee, and promptly returned
to his home and family. Mr. Wilson's mother was born on May 24, 1831,
in Illinois and died on April 27, 1899, at the home in Motley. Both of Mr.
Wilson's parents were devout members of the Baptist church, and in that
faith he was most carefully reared.
Alfred Wilson remained under the parental roof until he was sixteen
years of age and then he went to Charles City. Iowa, where he became
apprentice to the carpenter's trade. This he mastered in due tinie, and also
while at Charles City he worked in a furniture factory and there became
proficient in the cal)inet maker's trade. He was, therefore, able to do any
sort of wood work, from the most ordinary bench work up to the most
skillful hand work required on fine furniture. This ability he has retained
throughout the years, and it is to his rigorous training at that time he owes
his success of later years. About the year 1879 he came to Morrison county
and secured work in a saw-mill, bringing his wife and family, consisting of
one son, with him. The following year he opened the first meat market in
Motley and a little later on he admitted B. !"'. Hartshorn to partnership and
they branched out into a general store business, continuing same for four
years. Mr. Wilson then disposed of his interest in the mercantile business
and again took uj) his carpenter work, but some time after, when the railroad
"cut off" from Staples to Little Falls was being built through his town, he
again engaged in the retail meat business and took the contract for furnish-
ing meat to the gangs of workmen employed by the railroad company, .\fter
his contract had expired he discontinued his meat market and in 1890 pur-
chased the saw-mill, which he has since operated.
Mr. Wilson, like all men of afifairs, has encountered many obstacles in
his business ventures, but each difficulty seemed to give him fresh deter-
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 453
mination to succeed in whatever he had undertaken. He has proven that he
is a man of discernment and foresight, and the pleasing degree of material
success he has attained is but commensurate with the effort he put forth.
He lias erected most of the better buildings of Motley and owns one of its
largest homes. This is an eighteen-room house, three stories high, sur-
mounted by a most attractive cupola seventy-five feet in height. The entire
structure is painted white and presents a handsome appearance. It was
built with the intention of accommodating summer boarders and seekers after
health in this dehghtful northern clime. In addition to his town property,
Mr. Wilson is also a landowner, having purchased, in 1901, a tract of one
hundred and twenty-four acres located on the east side of Motley. This he
has extensivelv improved and has about thirty-five acres under cultivation
at the present time.
Alfred Wilson was married on December 25, 1873. at Mason City,
Iowa, to Flora E. Ward, who was born on March 25, 1857, at Blue Island,
Illinois, daughter of Stephen B. and Mary H. (Warn) Ward. Stephen B.
Ward was a native of the state of New York, born on the shore of Lake
George and when a young man he was apprenticed to the carpenter and
joiner's trade. At this he worked throughout the active years of life and
died at his home in Mason City, Iowa, in 1876, at the age of sixty-eight
years. Mrs. Wilson's mother was also a native of New York and after the
death of her husband, she made her home with Alfred Wilson and his wife,
and died at their home in Motley on November zt,, 1896.
To Alfred Wilson and wife have been born seven children, four of
whom are deceased. These are: Herbert, their first-born; Arthur W..
Mildred E., and Luverne E. Lloyd is a steam and electrical engineer with
the Cuyuna Range Power Company, of Ironton, this state; Howard, who
was graduated from the business college at Little Falls in 1908, is cashier
of the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company office in Minneapolis, and
Merle H.. the youngest of the family, graduate of the eighth grade of Mot-
ley's schools, remains at home with the parents.
While Mr. Wilson is not a member of any church society, he is an
attendant upon divine worship at the Methodist Episcopal church, of which
his wife and children are members. Mrs. Wilson is known as one of the
most capable and enthusiastic women in church work in this section and
together with her mother was largely instrumental in organizing the Meth-
odist Episcopal church of Motley in the early days of the town. She has
continued to give to this work the best of her mind and heart and much of
454
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
the progress of the town along this line is due to her untiring efforts. Mr.
Wilson is a stanch supporter of the principles of the Republican party,
although at no time a candidate for public office. Throughout the years of
his residence here he has been prominently identified with all that has made
for the legitimate progress and welfare of the town and he and his worthy
wife are fully entitled to the high degree of esteem in which they are held by
all who know them.
JAMES WESLEY FEATHERSTON.
It is a well-recognized fact that the most powerful influence in shaping
and controlling public life is the press. It reaches a greater number of
people than any other agency and thus has always been and always will be
a most important factor in molding public opinion and, in a definite sense,
shaping the destiny of the nation. The gentleman, to a brief review of whose
life the following lines are devoted, is prominently connected with the jour-
nalism of central Minnesota, and at this time is editor and publisher of the
Staples World, one of the most popular papers of Todd county, comparing
favorably with the best sheets of this section of the state in news, editorial
ability and mechanical execution. The county recognizes in Mr. Featherston
not only a keen newspaper man, but also a representative citizen, whose
interest in all that affects the general welfare has been of such character as
to win for him a high place in the confidence and esteem of the people.
James W. Featherston is a native of the state of New York, born at
Burke, Franklin county, April 23, 1861, .son of Joseph and Sarah (Leet)
Featherston, the third in their family of seven children. John E., the eldest
brother, is a dentist, located at Valley City, North Dakota; Joseph H. is
engaged in practicing the same profession at his home in Billings, Montana ;
Sarah E. is a teacher in the public schools of Fergus Falls, this state; Har-
riet is engaged in the same work in the schools of the city of Minneaixjlis;
Charles T. is a traveling .salesman, residing at Spokane, Washington ; Jennie
remains at home with the father in Fergus Falls.
Joseph Featherston, father of the immediate subject of this sketch, is a
Canadian by birth, born at LaColle, February 22, 183 1. When a young man
he became a tanner and at the age of seventeen years came to the United
States, locating at Plattsburg, New York, where for many years he was
known as a tanner and dealer in all kinds of leather. I-Vom Plattsburg he
went to Burke, New York, where he operated a saw-niill and tannery and
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 455
later lived at Chateaugay, that state, where he had a harness and shoe shop.
About the year 1868 he came to Minnesota, locating at Long Lake, where he
was engaged in the harness and shoe business for a short time, and in 1871
went to Minneapolis, where he contracted to pile lumber for various firms.
He remained there but a year and then went to Elk River, Minnesota, where
he worked as a cooper for a number of years and in 1882 he moved to
Fergus Falls, "which he has since made his home. For a time he had a
cooper shop there and was engaged also as a buyer of grain, but in 1883
he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land near Fergus Falls, and
proceeded to improve and farm it for a number of years. In 1900 he retired
from the active work of his farm and, together with his two daughters, has
made a home at Fergus Falls.
Sarah (Leet) Featherston, mother of the immediate subject of this
sketch, died in 1910, at the age of seventy-eight years. She was a native of
England, born in 1832, at Tiverton, and emigrated to this country when
eighteen years of age. Five years later she was married to Mr. Featherston,
and died at their home in Fergus Falls, this state, beloved by all who knew
her. She and her husband became devout members of the Presbyterian
church many years ago and reared their family in that faith.
James Wesley Featherston received his early education in the schools
of Elk. River, this state, and when but thirteen years of age was apprenticed
to the cooper's trade. He mastered that craft and then, having ambitions to
become a telegraph operator, he mastered the use of the key and secured his
first assignment. He soon decided that was not the thing which would suit
him sufficiently to enable him to be successful, so he resigned and went to
his father's home in Fergus Falls, near which he purchased land and farmed
for the following two years. In 1885 he quit his farm and went to Elk
River, where he became interested in the publishing business. He learned
the printer's trade and worked for the weekly newspaper of A. N. Dare, on
which he was foreman until 1893, when he went to Minneapolis and became
owner of a small job printing office. However, he remained there but a
short time, when he disposed of that business and returned to Dare & Com-
pany, remaining there about five years. He then went to Fergus Falls and
was foreman on the two newspapers of that city, remaining there until 1901,
when he returned to Elk River, where, for the following ten years, he served
as local editor of the Star News. That year he purchased the Sentinel, one
of the oldest newspapers published in the state of Minnesota, and continued
its publication for one year, when he moved to Sisseton, South Dakota, and
managed the Standard for two years. In September of 1914 he came to
456 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Staples, Todd county, Minnesota, and purchased from J. T. Drawz the
paper which he manages at the present time. This is known as the Staples
World, and is a weekly publication which compares favorably with any
other paper in this section of the state.
On June i, 1881, James Wesley Featherston was united in marriage
with Gertrude Albee, who was born on February 7, 1862, at Faribault, this
state, daughter of George C. and Susan (Mills) Albee, both natives of Maine.
George Albee was a harness maker by trade, but after going to Elk River,
about the year 1865, he became the owner of a flour-mill, which he was
operating at the time of his death a few years later. His wife died in 1883,
at the age of fifty years.
Mr. Featherston has been twice married, his first wife dying on Septem-
ber 14, 191 1, no children being bom to that union. In 1913 Mr. Featherston
was married to Florence A. Tenney, who was born on April 10, 1882, at
Mapleton, Minnesota. Her parents were Hiram B. and Ida A. (Weston)
Tenney, natives of Wisconsin. The mother is dead, but the father still lives
in Mapleton. Mrs. Featherston, before her marriage, was a teacher in the
public schools of Sauk Rapids, and to her and her husband has been born a
son, James Wesley, Jr., born on July 30, 1914, at Sisseton, South Dakota.
Mr. Featherston holds his religious membership with the Union church,
and in politics he is an independent Republican. He is a man of ])leasing
address, a genial companion, who easily makes friends and retains them, so
that he is well and favorably known wherever he has followed his chosen
vocation.
CYPRIEN ALEXANDRE REMITL.\RD.
One of the well-known citizens of Todd county, Minnesota, is the
esteemed gentleman whose name heads this sketch. Mr. Remillard has been
a resident of Staples from the very first of its existence, coming to that
locality in 1889, where he has since made his home. Staples was organized
as a village on January i, 1890, and being one of those active in the matter.
Mr. Remillard was chosen town recorder and aided in framing the original
ordinances of the village. Many of these ordinances are still in existence,
having been so well worded that they met not only the needs of the embryo
town, but the present-day thriving city as well. From that time on, Mr.
Remillard has always held some public office, including commissioner of
the first district for Todd county, and in the discharge of the various duties
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 457
which have so devolved upon him he has never failed to win the approval of
his fellow citizens, for he brings to any task a dignity and thoroughness
which is most commendable. Mr. Remillard has been engaged in various
lines of business, but is now practically retired from the active duties of life.
Cyprien Alexandre Remillard is a Canadian by birth, having first seen
the light of day on March 25, 1847, at Napierville, province of Quebec. He
received his elementary education in the parochial schools of his native town
and later attended Terrebonne College, province of Quebec, for two terms.
Mr. Remillard"s father was Ale.xandre Remillard, a miller by trade, who
died at the age of eighty-six years, in 1903. His mother, Josette Goyette,
born on December 24, 181 7, in the province of Quebec, still makes her home
with him. at the advanced age of ninety-eight years, a most wonderfully pre-
served woman for her age.
When nineteen years of age, Mr. Remillard came into the states and
located in New York. Here for a time he was employed as a driver on the
Erie canal in the summer and worked on farms during the winter months.
In the spring of 1866 he went to Norton Mills, Vermont, where he secured
employment as a scaler in the extensive saw-mills at that place. However,
he remained there for two years only and came to St. Paul, Minnesota, in
1868, and for the following eighteen months he was connected with the
retail mercantile business. He then again became connected with the lum-
ber business, working in the Minneapolis mills in the summer and out in
the timber in the winter. In the spring of 1872 he went to Yellow Medicine,
where he conducted a store for one year, removing in the spring of 1873 to
Wheatland, in Rice county, where he operated a saw-mill and conducted a
general store until 1886. In the spring of that year he came to Todd county
and engaged in the livery business at Long Prairie, and in 1889 he came to
the settlement which has since developed into the thriving town of Staples.
Cyprien A. Remillard has been twice married. His first wife was Mar-
guerite Berrs' with whom he was united in marriage in 1874. Her death
occurred in 1882 and she left a family of four children, namely: Emma,
Clara and Henry (twins) and Lorella. The latter died when a liabe of four
months and Emma died in 1890 at the age of fifteen years. Hers was the
first body to be interred in the Staples cemetery and Clara, who died in 1903,
was laid beside her. In 1885 Mr. Remillard married Anna Plaisance and
to this union have been born eight children, six of whom are still living.
These are : Eugene T., Eugenie, Louise, Praxede, Napoleon and Rachael.
Mr. Remillard and his family are communicants of the Roman Catholic
church. He gives support to the Democratic party. Mr. Remillard has
458 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
been known as one of the leading citizens of Staples from its earliest days
and he has a lasting monument to his high ideals for the place in the present
excellent state of community life.
FRANK C. McGIVERN.
Following is a short sketch of the career of Frank C. McGivern,
attorney, of Staples, Todd county, Minnesota, and at the present time munici-
pal judge of that city. Frank C. McGivern was born on June 25, 1882,
at Brainerd, this state, son of Bernard and Mary (Canan) McGivern, the
former being a native of Ireland, born in Coiuity Down, in March, 1855.
Upon emigrating to this country as a. young man, he located in Jackson,
Michigan, where for a time he was engaged as a boiler maker. Later he
engaged in farming in Wadena county, Minnesota, where he bought a tract
of three hundred and sixty acres of land. He has improved this until he
now has over two hundred acres under the plow and has been highly suc-
cessful in his undertaking. His farm is located some six miles northwest
of Staples and is one of the finest farms of that section. Bernard McGivern
has been twice married. Mary Canan, his first wife, was born at Marshall,
Michigan, in 1862 and died in 1883. the only child of that union being
I^rank C, the immediate subject of this sketch. Mr. McGivern's second
wife was Mary Kennedy, born in i86j, in Ireland, and her death occurred
in i()i5. To this latter union were born six sons.
Frank C. McGivern when a boy received his elementary education in
the schools of Brainerd and was graduated from the high school of that
place in 1901. He immediately entered the law department of the State
University at Minneapolis and was graduated therefrom in 1905. For a
year he traveled and then went to Duluth where he began the practice of his
chosen profession in the law offices of .Alexander Marshall. However, he
remained tiiere but a year, and in 1907 came to Stai)les, Todd county, and
alone entered the ranks of his profession. He has met with jileasing success
in his chosen field of endeavor, for from the beginning of his career he
demonstrated ability of a high order. Mr. McGivern from his youth has
trd<en a deej) interest in public affairs and the current issues of the day, and
his election as municipal judge of Staples is but an expression of the esteem
in which he is held by his fellow citizens. He is but now on the threshold
of mature manhood and his accomiilishments in the past may reasonably be
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 459
taken as an indication of what future years will yield to him, and he gives
promise of possessing in the years to come a still greater influence upon the
welfare of the community in which he has chosen to make his home.
Frank C. McGivern was married on June 28, 1910, to Esther M. Mon-
son, who was' born on September 13, 1888, at Red Wing, Minnesota, a
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew J. Monson, the former of whom was for
many years a kiln burner in the extensive brick yards of that town. Mrs.
McGivern is a graduate of the high schools of her native city and also of
the state normal at Winona, this state. For three years previous to her
marriage she taught in the public schools of Staples and has a wide circle
of friends here by whom she is much admired. Mr. and Mrs. McGivern
have two charming children: Marion F., born on May 5. 1911, and Elizabeth
J., April 17, 1913.
Mr. McGivern does not hold membership in any religious society. His
parents were Roman Catholics and his wife is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church. He is Republican in his politics and is a member of the
Knights of Pythias. Mr. McGivern is an excellent specimen of American
young manhood and is counted among the best citizens of Staples.
REV. FRANCIS ZITUR.
There is no earthly state higher than that which ministers to the spiritual
needs of man; no life can be more uplifting and grander than that which is
devoted to the amelioration of the human race and nothing can exceed a life
of sacrifice for the betterment of the brotherhood of man. It is not possible
to measure adequately the influence of such a life, for it works not only
directly, but indirectly upon the hearts of men, making the world brighter
and better. One of the faithful spiritual fathers of this section of the state
is the Rev. Francis Zitur, whose name forms the caption of this article.
Francis Zitur was born on March 28, 1875, in West Prussia, Germany,
a son of Frank and Augusta (Weitke) Zitur, and he is one of four living
children out of a family of eleven. Frank Zitur was a native of Germany
and was engaged in farming. In 1882 he with his family left their native
land and located at Melrose, Minnesota, where he was engaged in farming
for a time. He removed from there to Chaska, this state, where for a num-
ber of years he was known as one of the leading men of his community.
He retired from the active affairs of life in 1897. He and his good wife
460 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
(born in Germany on August i, 1849) '^''e now passing their declining years
at Chaska, enjoying the material blessings which their faithful years of labor
made possible.
Francis Zitur was reared on his father's farm and when a youth
attended the parochial and public schools of Melrose. At the age of nineteen
years he entered the University of St. John at Collegeville, this state, and
after .spending three years in that institution of learning, he went to St.
Lawrence College, at Calvary, Wisconsin. There he took the complete
classical and philosophical course and after being graduated from that institu-
tion, he returned to .St. John's Seminary, where he took his theological work.
He was graduated therefrom in 1904 and ordained a priest the same year.
His first labor was as assistant priest at Melrose, later being placed in full
charge of St. Patrick's church in that city. Fourteen months later he went
to Clear Lake and assumed charge of St. Marcus church, and in 1913 he
was sent to Staples and placed in charge of Sacred Heart church.
Father Zitur is a man of broad sympathy and quick "understanding, who
quickly endears himself to the hearts of his people by his full apprecation
of the needs of their live-^. He possesses a pleasing manner and quiet dig-
nity which make him luuch admired outside of church circles and his influ-
ence for good in the general life of the community has been evident from
the first of his ministrations here. Father Zitur is a member of the Knights
of Columbus and the Catholic Order of Foresters.
ERNEST G. HAYMAKER.
It is generally acknowledged that journalism is one of the most impor-
tant factors in twentieth century life, exerting as it does an influence on
practically every i)hase of society. This relation is just as actual and potent
in the smaller cities and towns as in the large cities and he who directs the
policy of the ncws]iapcr or gives expression to that i)olicy exerts personal
control over the thoughts and actions of the community not equaled by any
other profession. Among the ne\vs])aper men of Morrison county, Minne-
sota, who have contributed a definite measure toward the advancement of
the county, is Ernest G. Haymaker, the publisher of the weekly newspaper
and the ])ostmaster of Motley. Since Mr. Haymaker purchased the paper
in 1907 the circulation has been increased from three hundred and fifty to
five Inuidred.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 461
Ernest G. Haymaker was bom on October 7, 1881, in Filmore county,
Minnesota, and is the son of Frank and Clara (Compton) Haymaker, the
parents of nine children, of whom one, Marion, the youngest, is deceased.
The living children are, Ernest G. ; Irvin, of Paradise, Montana; Lloyd of
Benchland, Fergus county, Montana ; Emery, of Benchland ; Sadie, a teacher
of Paradise, Montana; Mrs. Ethel Mineer, of Benchland, Montana; Andrew
J., of Benchland: Olive, of Paradise. The late Frank Haymaker was born
in June, 1856, in Filmore county, Minnesota, and died in North Dakota in
1906. He was a farmer by occupation and was reared in Filmore county.
In 1897 he sold his farm and removed to Missouri. He worked in the
mines and three years later he removed to North Dakota and farmed until
his death. Clara (Compton) Haymaker, his wife, was born in June, 1858,
near Stoughton, Wisconsin, the daughter of Andrew J. Compton, a veteran
of the Civil War and a farmer by occupation. He served in a Wisconsin
regiment during the Civil War. Mrs. Frank Haymaker is still living and
resides with her son, Irvin, at Paradise. Montana.
Ernest G. Haymaker was reared on the farm and educated in the dis-
trict schools of Filmore county, Minnesota, but when his parents removed
to Missouri, he came to Motley, Minnesota, in 1900, to live with an aunt,
Mrs. Frank Sears. Afterwards he attended the public schools at Motley for
one year and then the north high school, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, from
which he was graduated in 1905. After his graduation, Mr. Haymaker
returned to Motley and worked as a laborer until 1906, when he purchased
the newspaper of this place. In 1909 Mr. Haymaker was appointed post-
master of Motley and has served as such ever since. He owns the business
block in which the office is housed, is a shareholder of the telephone company
and owns besides these his residence in Motley.
In 1909 Ernest G. Haymaker was married to Cora McGuire, who was
bom on February 22, 1888, in Kentucky. Mrs. Haymaker was the daughter
of Thomas and Margaret ( Bellemy ) McGuire, natives of Kentucky. Mrs.
Haymaker's father, is now living in Motley, Minnesota. Her mother is
deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Haymaker have had two children. Margaret B.,
born on May 26, 1910; and Edith, February 23, 1914.
Independent in politics. Mr. Haymaker is clerk of the school district.
He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern
Woodmen of America. Mr. and Mrs. Haymaker and family attend the
Methodist church.
462 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
SHERMAN W. JACOBS.
Among the well-known young bankers of Morrison county, Minnesota,
is Sherman W. Jacobs, cashier of the First National Bank of Motley, who
also is a shareholder in the bank and who owns one hundred and sixty acres
of land in Cass county, Minnesota. Aside from his financial interests, he is
a progressive and up-to-date citizen who has taken a keen interest in the
development of the county and who has had much to do with its latest
progress..
Sherman W. Jacobs was born on November 16, i88x, in Moran town-
ship, Todd county, Minnesota. He is the son of William and Carrie
(Brown) Jacobs, the former of whom was born in i860, at Columbus, Ohio,
and was a machinist and lumberman. He was the son of John and Dorothy
Jacobs, natives of Germany, who, after coming to America, were married in
Ohio. William Jacobs died at St. Josepirs hospital, at Brainerd, Minne-
sota, in 1902. His wife, Carrie (Brownj Jacobs, was born in May, 1861,
in New York state and is now living at Motley. She is the mother of five
children, of whom Sherman W. is the eldest. Mrs. Ida Merili lives in Den-
ver, Colorado; Edward and Frederick are twins. The former is connected
with the Dower Lumber Company, of Wadena, Minnesota. The latter is a
teller in the First National Bank at Mandan, North Dakota. Olive, who
was a student in the St. Cloud Normal, is now a teacher in North Dakota
and lives with her mother.
Sherman W. Jacobs came to JMotley, Alinnesota, when six years old
with his parents. He attended the public schools of Motley and later the
high school at Minneapolis until 1902, when he returned to Motley and began
clerking and bookkeeping in the First National Bank. On .\pril 22. 1907,
Mr. Jacobs was appointed cashier of the bank, a position which he has held
ever since.
On .\pril 10, 1907, just before his a]ipoiiitment as cashier, Mr. Jacobs
was married to ICdith M. Donovan, who was l)orn on June 22, 1882, the
daughter of John and Jane Katherine (Carey) Donovan. Mrs. Jacobs'
father was born at Harvard, Illinois, in 1852, and lur mother at Maple,
Minnesota, on October 16, i860. The latter died on Februar}' i, 1908.
Mr. Donovan, who during his active career was a farmer, is now living with
Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs. His parents were nati\es of Ireland. Mrs. Jacobs
was educated in the public schools of Motley and at the Brainerd high school.
.She began teaching when fourteen years old in Cass county and later taught
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 463
two terms at Motley. Afterwards she taught the A second and B third
grades in Dukith. Minnesota, until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs
have had three children, Donovan J-. born on December 24, 1909; John W.,
March 18, 1912; and Edward F., December 4, 19 13.
Mr. and Mrs. Sherman W. Jacobs are members of the Catholic church.
Mr. Jacobs is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is inde-
pendent in politics and has served on the school board and in the city council.
Mr. Jacobs has taken an especial interest in the welfare of his home town,
and has labored hard for its advancement. He is well known and highly
respected in this section of Morrison county.
FRED P. SEARS.
Among the well-known citizens of Motley, Minnesota, and among the
most successful farmers of Morrison county, is Mayor Fred P. Sears, of
Motley, who has been one of the most active citizens in behalf of the
development of this county in all of its history. In fact he has been a potent
force in making this a rich agricultural region. Not only has he carried on
general farming and improved his land but he has stood firmly behind all
movements on behalf of public improvement. Motley is ready to proclaim
Fred P. Sears one of its leading farmers, business men and citizens.
Fred P. Sears was born on May 26, 1867, at Stowe, Lamoille county,
Vermont, the son of Sylvester and Mary (Morrison) Sears, the former of
whom was born on February 5, 1829, at Stowe, Vermont, and the latter was
born on Januan,' 31, 1838, at Stowe, Vermont. The late Sylvester Sears
was a farmer by occupation, who, in 1880, emigrated with his family to
Todd county, Minnesota, homesteading one hundred and sixty-eight acres
in section 24, of Volard township. There he built a log' house, but two years
later he erected a frame house. He cleared and farmed ninety acres, but
sold out in 1895 to his son, Frank, at a time when the place was well
improved. He was a hard-working man and one who always took an inter-
est in public affairs. He was the first man to construct a bridge across the
Long Prairie river and the first supervisor of his township. He owned
about forty-five head of high grade Durham cattle at the time of his death,
August 21, 1900. His wife, who died on January 9, 1902, was the daughter
of James M. and Christena (Wilkins) Morrison, who were natives of Ver-
mont. After selling the farm, Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester M. Sears lived in
464 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Motley. Both were active members of the Methodist church. They had
five children, of whom Fred P. was the third; Mrs. Emma (Ravey) is
deceased; Frank is a farmer in Todd county, Minnesota; James W. resides
in Sp(;kane, Washington; Charles resides at Bellingham, Washington.
Fred P. Sears was reared on a farm and was educated in the public
schools of Motley. When twenty years old he engaged in contract work in
the timber lands. In 1898 Mr. Sears was married and then began improve-
ments on land which he had purchased in Todd county. Altogether, he has
cultivated seventy-five acres, but owns two hundred and forty acres in Todd
county. In 1914 he was elected to the fourth term as mayor of Motley and
is now filling this position. Mr. Sears owns a pure-bred registered Percheron
stallion. He is a shareholder in the telephone company and is president of
the I'armer's Telephone Company. He is also vice-president of the Motley
I '"air .'\ssociation.
In 1898 I->ed P. Sears was married to Cora Gregory, w'ho was born on
December 19, 1879, in Rock Falls, Iowa. Mrs. Sears taught school for two
years in Cass county, Minnesota, before her marriage. She is the daughter
of George and Amy (Brown) Gregory, natives of Illinois and Wisconsin.
respectively, who came to Minnesota about 1885 and engaged in farming.
They are now living retired in, Motley.
Mr. and Mrs. Sears have had three children, namely : Vivian was born
on August 26, iQOo; Mildred M., .\ugust 14, 1902; and Lillian E., .April
28, 1907.
Aside from the ofifice of mayor, to which Mr. Sears was elected as a
Rejiublican, he has also served as a member of the school board and as town-
ship supervisor. He is a member of the Indei)en(lcnt Order of Odd Fel-
lows at Motley and of the encampment at Staples. Mr. and Mrs. Fred P.
Sears attend the Methodist church. Mrs. Sears is a member of the church
and a steward.
GERALD WILLIAM M.VSSY.
The United States is perhaps the most cosmopolitan country on earth.
Its citizens are drawn from every country and from everv clime. A resi-
dence of a few years in this country thoroughly imbues our foreign-bom
citizen with the .\merican spirit and no nation has sent more substantial
citizens to America than the Emerald Isle. i'"rom Ireland have come many
young men who have won honored places in the life of this great country.
OKKAI.Ii \V. MASSY
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 465
Among the residents of Morrison county, Minnesota, is Gerald William
Massy, the scion of a distinguished Irish family, who partially because of
the law of primogeniture came to America to seek his fortunes in the New
World.
Gerald William Massy is a native of County Limerick, Ireland, and
the son of James Fitzgerald and Elizabeth (Preston) Massy, who own the
magnificent Stoneville estate where Gerald William was bom and which
has been owned by the Massy family ever since 1737. One of the ancestors
of the family acquired the estate from the British government for services
rendered in one of the country's early wars. Hugh Inglosby Massy, eldest
brother of Gerald William, was a major in the Forty-fourth regiment and
served during the Boer War. He died during the war and his eldest son,
William, fell heir to the Stoneville estate and owns it at the present time.
He is a captain in a Bengal regiment and is now stationed in India.
Born and reared on the Stoneville estate, the country seat of the Massy
family in County Limerick, Ireland, Gerald William Massy was educated
at Forest Hill Grammar School at Forest Hill, County Kent, England, and
at Foyle College, Londonderry, Ireland. The property being entailed, he
was entitled only to a younger son's portion, so he came to America in
1880. After arriving in America, he settled in western Minnesota and
followed farming. After four years he removed to Morrison county and
became the manager of a farm. Subsequently, he became head foreman in
the construction of a dam at Little Falls and afterwards, during 1887 and
1888, he worked in a hardware store. In 1891 Mr. Massy established an
office on the west side of the river, where the Northern Pacific water tank
now stands, and engaged in the real estate and insurance business. For
some time he was agent for the St. Paul & Northern Pacific railroad lands
under his father-in-law, Major A. G. Postlethwaite, who was land com-
missioner for the St. Paul & Northern Pacific railroad. Since then Mr.
Massy has handled a great deal of real estate including farm lands and city
property. He has various kinds of real estate for sale and is also the agent
for sixteen different insurance companies.
On July 12, 1893, ^^- Massy was married to Amy Gertrude Postle-
thwaite, who was born in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, and is of English
descent. Mrs. Massy, came to St. Paul, Minnesota, with her parents in
1884, her father being at that time comptroller of the St. Paul & Northern
Pacific railroad and later land commissioner for the railroad. Here she met
her future husband. To Mr. and Mrs. Gerald W. Massy have been bom
(30)
466 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
three children, Helen, Gerald William, Jr., and James Fitzgerald. Helen
is now teaching school at Pelican Rapids, Minnesota. Gerald William, Jr.,
is a manager of large insurance agencies at Minneapolis. He married Erma
Warren, of Little Falls. James Fitzgerald is now living in Little Falls,
Minnesota.
Mr. Massy is a Republican in politics. He has been a member of the
Little Falls school board for four years.
CHARLES E. SEELY.
Prominent in the business life of Motley, Morrison county, Minnesota,
is Charles E. Seely, who was formerly engaged in farming, but who is now
the manager of the Monarch Elevator Company at Motley, before which he
was employed three years as the manager of the elevator at Staples, which
is owned by the same company.
Charles E. Seely was born in Knox county. Illinois, on August 31, 1866,
and is the son of Melvin H. and Martha E. (Mosher) Seely, the former of
whom was born in Tioga county, Pennsylvania, in October, 1833, and the
latter of whom was also born in Tioga county, Pennsylvania, about 1845.
During his active life, Melvin H. Seely was a farmer by occupation. He Is
a veteran of the Civil War, having enlisted in a Pennsylvania regiment in
1863. He was discharged in 1864 at Philadelphia and, after receiving his
discharge, engaged in farming. He operated a dairy farm until his removal
to Knox county, Illinois, where he remained a few years and then returned
to Pennsylvania. Later, however, he moved back to Illinois and remained
until 1881, when he settled in Moore county, Minnesota, renting land there
until 1890 when he moved to Cass county, Minnesota, and homosteaded one
hundred and sixty acres of land. Finally, he was able to put thirty acres
of the land under cultivation and farmed it until 1910, when he emigrated to
Oklahoma. He is now living with his daughter, Mrs. Lettie B. Tepner, in
Cass county, Minnesota. Mrs. Martha E. (Mosher) Seely is also living.
She bore her husband nine children, of whom the eldest died before Charles
E. was born; Mrs. Etta Hoxter is deceased; Fred M. is a farmer in Cass
county; Charles E. was the fourth child; George W. resides in Cass county;
Mrs. Lettie B. Tepner resides in Cass county ; Warren R. and Melvin E.
reside in Cass county ; Martha, the youngest, died in infancy.
Charles E. Seelv was reared on a farm. He attended the common
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 467 .
schools of various states and attained a good education. In 1891 Mr. Seely
purchased eighty acres of land for which he paid three dollars per acre. He
now owns one hundred and twenty acres, eighty acres of which has been
cleared and is under cultivation. In the meantime he has erected a house and
bam. The house, however, burned in 1913. In 1903 Mr. Seely came to
Motley to accept a position as manager of the Monarch Elevator Company.
He owns besides his farm two lots and a residence in Motley.
In 1894 Charles E. Seely was married to Lucy A. Cunningham, who
was born on October 3, 1874, and who is the daughter of Niles and Malissa
(Mohler) Cunningham, natives of Indiana and Minnesota, respectively.
Both are still living and are farming in Todd county, Minnesota. Mr. and
Mrs. Seely have had six children : Lilia G. is a graduate of the Staples high
school and, for three years, has been teaching in Cass county; Ethel is a
student at the Normal School at Duluth ; Bernice, Ruth, Jennings and Enolia
G. live at home with their parents.
Mr. Seely is a Democrat in politics and is a member of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. He is now a member of the local school board.
JOHN O. JOHNSON.
It is interesting to note from the beginning the growth and the develop-
ment of a community; to note the lines along which progress has been made
and to take cognizance of those whose industry and leadership in the work
of advancement have rendered possible the present prosperity of the locality
under consideration. John O. Johnson, merchant of Motley, Morrison
county, Minnesota, is an up-to-date business man, public spirited as a citizen
and progressive in all that the term implies.
John O. Johnson was born on July 21, 1885, in Motley, Minnesota, and
is the son of Chris and Margaret Johnson. He is one of seven children
born to his parents, five of whom are living. Chris Johnson was a native
of Norway.
John O. Johnson was reared in Motley and here attended the public
schools. ■ When he was fifteen years old, he began clerking in the general
mercantile store owned by Mrs. Ida A. Morrison. After having worked in
the store for two years, he began to work for A. L. Cole & Company, also
the proprietors of a general mercantile store. Two years later he removed
to Backus, Cass county, Minnesota, and worked in a general mercantile store
468 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
there for about three years. He then returned to Motley and began to work
for Mr. Lockwood in his mercantile store. In August, 1907, Mr. Johnson
purchased a bankrupt stock of general merchandise worth approximately
fourteen hundred dollars. Four years later he sold out the stock, returned
to Backus and clerked for J. W. Bailey & Company, until October, 19 13.
In 1913 Mr. Johnson returned to Motley and established a general mercantile
store with a stock of merchandise worth approximatel}' eighteen hundred
dollars. The stock is now valued at twenty-eight hundred dollars. In June,
1914, Mr. Johnson erected a handsome residence twenty-four by twenty-
four feet, containing eight rooms and provided with furnace heat. He also
owns two lots in Motley.
In 1907 John O. Johnson was married to Edith Blake, who was born
in 1887, at Salix, Woodbury county, Iowa. Mrs. Johnson was reared on
the farm. She is the daughter of Charles and Mary Blake, who are natives
of England and who came to Morrison county, Minnesota, in 1906. They
are now living retired in Motley.
Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. John O. Johnson. Ray-
mond L. was born in September, 1907; Marjorie, in 1909; Marlow, in 1911 ;
Evelyn E., July 5, 1913.
Mr. and Mrs. John O. Johnson are members of the Lutheran church.
Mr. Johnson is identified with the Republican party and is a member of the
Motley village council and is now serving his second term. Mr. Johnson is
a mcmljer of the Modern Woodmen of America.
WILLIAM E. LEE.
The state of Minnesota has been highly honored by the characters and
careers of her many prominent citizens. In every section may be found
men who apparently have been born to leadership in the various vocations,
men who have succeeded because of their superior intelligence, natural
endowment and force of character. It is always profitable to weigh the
motives of such men and to study their lives as examples of what any young
man may accomplish in a country where political liberty is universal and
where economic liberty may be won by careful, painstaking industry and
nonnal intelligence. There are few citizens living today in the state of
Minnesota who have achieved a more honorable rank in life than the Hon.
William E. Lee, of Long Prairie, Todd county, Minnesota. He has long
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 469
been a prominent and influential factor in the public affairs of Minnesota, as
well as in the business enterprises of Todd and adjoining counties. Having
won his success through legitimate and worthy means, he stands as an admir-
able type of the self-made man and citizen.
William E. Lee was born on January 8, 1852, at Alton, Illinois, and is
the son of Samuel and Jane (Green) Lee, who were natives of Bridgewater,
England. Samuel Lee was one of the earliest settlers in northern Minne-
sota. He came to America from Bridgewater, England, and settled first at
Alton, Illinois, in 185 1, where he was engaged in contract building. In 1856
he came to Minnesota and settled at Little Falls, the family following him in
1857. He was also a contract builder at Little Falls, and having taken up
the millwright trade, built several mills in northern Minnesota. Soon after
settling at Little Falls, he took a homestead on a quarter section of land
near Ladoux, five miles west of Little Falls on the Swan river and Long
Prairie road. He moved from there in i860 and settled at Long Prairie.
He remained at Long Prairie until the Indian outbreak in the spring of 1862,
when he returned to Little Falls.
The late Samuel Lee enlisted in the Union army during the Civil War
and was a member of Company E, Hatch's Battalion of Minnesota Volun-
teers. At the close of the war, he immigrated to the Indian country and
built many mills at White Earth, Leech Lake and other places. After a
time, he retired from active business and settled at Long Prairie.
Samuel Lee was married before coming to America to Jane Green and
together they endured the usual hardships of frontier life in Minnesota.
Eight children were born to them, six of whom are still living, Anna Rl.
McCrea, a widow, of Victoria. British Columbia; William E., the subject
of this sketch; Richard Henry, of Little Falls; George S.. of Fairbanks,
Alaska; Isabella J. Broder, a widow, of Eugene, Oregon; Emily C. Simmons,
the wife of F. B. Simmons, of Portland, Oregon ; Samuel Charles Lee, who
died on February 8, 1894, was in the mercantile business at Long Prairie
for many years; Frances M. Racine, the wife of Carist Racine, died at
Tacoma, Washington. Both Samuel Lee and his wife died at Long Prairie,
Minnesota, the former on October 22, 1906, and the latter on October 22,
1903.
William E. Lee came to Minnesota with his parents in the spring of
1857 and settled at Little Falls. Later he lived on a homestead near Ladoux,
Morrison county, and in the spring of i860 moved to Long Prairie, where
the family remained until the spring of 1862, when they returned to Little
Falls. He lived for many years on a farm at Swan river, two miles south
470 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
of Little Falls, where with his older brother, Samuel, he operated a ferrj-
boat and carried the United States mail from Little Falls to Long Prairie
and later from Brainerd to Leech Lake.
As a boy, William E. Lee attended the public schools at Little Falls and
a private school at Long Prairie taught by Mary Warren, and later a school
at Swan river taught by her sister, Mrs. Julia A. Spears. These teachers
were part Chippewa, educated by early missionaries and now live at White
Earth, Minnesota.
For several years William E. Lee worked with his father at the mill-
wright trade, and in 1873, after having worked a year in the erection of the
steam mill at Sauk Center, he secured a position as clerk in a store at Long
Prairie owned by Kellogg, Chase & Mayo, who built the mill. In 1875 he
opened a store at Burnhamville, now Pillsbury, Todd county, and in 1876
was elected register of deeds for Todd county and held the office two terms.
He moved his store to Long Prairie, and la'ter sold it to his brother, Samuel
C. Lee. At the expiration of his term as register of deeds, he established at
Long Prairie the first bank in Todd county, known as the Bank of Long
Prairie, in which institution he is still interested and is cashier. He has
extended his banking interest, and is, at the present time, president of the
First National Bank of Browerville, First National Bank of Eagle Bend.
First State Bank of Burtrum, and First State Bank of Swanville. He is
also president of the Eagle Bend Implement Company and is interested in
the Hansmaim Manufacturing Company and several other business enter-
prises.
Mr. Lee was elected to the Legislature of 1885 and also the Legislatures
of 1887 and 1893. He was speaker of the house of representatives in the
last named session. He has served on the state normal school board and as
superintendent of the state reformatory at St. Cloud and was one of the
first members of and helped to organize the state board of control. He was
a candidate for governor in the primaries in 1912 but was defeated. He
was again a candidate in 1914 and received the Republican nomination but
was defeated at the polls by the present governor. He was the first candidate
for a state office on either the Republican or Democratic ticket who made
an open and aggressive cam])aign against the saloon interests and the brewery
organization, and while he was defeated because of the stand he took on the
temperance question the cause for which he fought was greatly advanced
by the campaigns he made.
Mr. Lee has held the position of president of the Minnesota Bankers
Association; was president of the first village council of Long Prairie; and
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 47I
served on the board of education and held other similar positions. During
the past ten or twelve years, he has traveled considerably, having visited
nearly every state in the Union and some of our insular possessions and
made quite an extensive tour of European countries and also of Egypt and
the Holy Land.
William E. Lee was married to Eva A. Gibson, the daughter of Ambrose
H. and Margaret (Daily) Gibson, who were early settlers in Todd county.
They have three sons : Rudolph, who is editor of the Long Prairie Leader;
Harry, cashier of the First National Bank of Browerville; and Raymond
A., vice-president of the Bank of Long Prairie and secretary of the Hans-
mann Manufacturing Company.
Ambrose H. and Margaret (Daily) Gibson came from Kingston, Can-
ada, to Little Falls, in 1857, and in the same year settled at the south end
of Round Prairie in Todd county. The family soon afterward, however,
moved to Bearhead, eight miles east of Long Prairie, where they lived until
the Indian outbreak of 1862, when they moved to Little Falls. Mr. Gibson
was among the first to enlist from Little Falls in the volunteer soldiers of
the Civil War. He had served in the English army when a young man and
was a musician of some note. While in the English army, he was a teacher
of sword exercise and was an expert swordsman. After the Civil War, Mr.
Gibson returned to Bearhead and lived there until the time of his death.
Ambrose H. and Margaret (Daily) Gibson were the parents of three chil-
dren, Alfred J., who is now a resident of Bearhead; Eva A., the wife of Mr.
Lee, of Long Prairie; and Beatrice M., the wife of Charles E. Harkens,
who now resides at San Diego, California.
CAMUXE H. DES MOLINE ANDRE.
Long Prairie, Todd county, Minnesota, has few citizens who have
accomplished more in a business way than Camille H. Des Moline Andre, a
native of Potosi, Grant county, Wisconsin, where he was born on March 4,
1864. Some years age he purchased the Imsiness and good will of Van
Dvke & Van Dyke, which included the Todd county abstract company, and,
having revised the same, has made of it one of the most up-to-date and
modern institutions of its kind in the state of Minnesota.
Camille H. Des Moline Andre is the son of John Baptist and Louise
(Laurelle) .\ndre. both of whom were natives of Ateville, France. After
472 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
their marriage in France, they came to America, and having landed in New
Orleans about i860, traveled north to St. Louis, where they remained for a
time. They also stopped at Cairo, Illinois, and then moved to Potosi, Wis-
consin. Mr. Andre's father was a wagon maker by trade, having learned
the trade in his native country. While a resident of New Orleans he was
engaged in the shipping business, and after coming to Potosi, Wisconsin, he
engaged in the mining business. Subsequently, he left Wisconsin and moved
to Shakopee, Scott county, Minnesota, where he remained for a few years.
He then moved to St. Cloud and later immigrated to Todd county, home-
steading one hundred and sixty acres of land in sections 27 and 28. From
1868 until 1891, John Baptist Andre lived on his Todd county farm. He
then moved to Sauk Center, Stearns county, and retired from active life.
Three years later he died in Sauk Center, and his wife died at Long Prairie
in February, 1914, at the age of eighty-six years. The father was eighty-
two years old at the time of his death. They were the parents of nine chil-
dren, only two of whom are living, Mary, Camille H. D.. Eugenia, Annie
and five who died in infancy. Mary was the wife of Robert Stanley and
died at the age of forty years at Hillsborough, North Dakota; she was the
mother of four children, namely : Asa, Calvin, Earl and Annie, all living.
Camille H. D. is the subject of this sketch. Eugenia is the widow of Alfred
Frendberg and to them were born two children, one who died in infancy, and
Olive, who died at the age of twenty years. She was the wife of Adam
Hogg, a banker at Cody, Wyoming. After the death of Alfred Frendberg,
his widow married Graham Morton, of Meeteetse, Park county, Wyoming.
To this second marriage, there have been born two sons, Frank, who is eleven
years old, and Graham, Jr., who is twelve. Graham Morton, Sr., is a ranch-
man in Wyoming. Annie Andre died at the age of twenty-four years.
Mr. Andre received his education in the Todd county district schools and
at Round Prairie. He was also a student for six months in the schools at
Sauk Center. After finishing his education, Mr. Andre took up farming
in Todd county and was engaged in this occupation until twenty-six years
old, when he engaged in buying and selling cattle. After two years, he
took a trip west with the intention of going into the cattle business on a
large scale, but, after his visit, changed his plans and returned to Long
Prairie in 1897, opening a real estate, loan and insurance office in partner-
ship with J. U. TIcmnu'. This partnership lasted for five years, when the
firm dissolved and Mr. Andre formed a partnership with William M. Barber.
This arrangement continued for about three years, when it was dissolved and
Mr. Andre purchased the business and good will of Van Dyke & Van Dyl^e.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 473
The firm included the Todd County Abstract Company. Mr. Andre revised
this business and now enjoys a splendid patronage in this county.
Mr. Andre has been a member of the Long Prairie Lodge, Free and
Accepted Masons, for many years. He is also a member of the Long Prairie
Nest of Owls. In politics, he is identified with the Republican party.
OLE O. KJELDERGAARD.
The record of the man whose name introduces this article contains no
exciting chapter of tragic events, but is replete with well-defined purposes
which have already won for him a pleasing degree of success and promise
to bring to him with future years still greater opportunities. Mr. Kjelder-
guard possesses executive ability of a high order, clear foresight, and these
excellent qualities coupled with a worthy ambition and unfailing energy will
surely serve him well.
Ole O. Kjeldergaard, ex-merchant of Cushing, and now farmer of
Cushing township, Morrison county, Minnesota, was born in Renville county,
this state, on March 9, 1881, son of Ole and Gunild (Langaard) Kjelder-
gaard, and one of their family of five children. Both parents are natives of
Norway, the father born in 1853 and the mother in 1848. They were of
the farming class in their native country, and emigrated therefrom in 1879,
coming directly to this state, where in Renville county they found a loca-
tion. They purchased a tract of two hundred and forty acres of land and
have made many improvements, still making their home there. They have
prospered, due to their earnest desire to succeed.
Ole attended the district schools near his home in Renville county until
he was seventeen years of age, when he entered the normal school at Madison,
this state, and took a general course. He was then qualified to teach and
in 1902 took charge of his first district school in Renville county. He taught
just the one year, when he moved to Cushing and opened up a general mer-
chandise store. The first building he occupied was a frame structure, which
was destroyed by fire, and he replaced it with a substantial cement building,
size thirty by fifty feet. In 1913 Mr. Kjeldergaard bought four hundred
and eighty acres of land in section 28, of Cushing township. This is timber
land, but twenty acres of same being broken when he purchased it. In 191 5
he sold out his business in Cushing and is devoting his entire energies to
clearing and improving his fine land.
474 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Ole O. Kjeldergaard was married on June 29, 1905, to Amy Wilson,
born on April 5, 1891, at Sauk Center, this state, a daughter of Bradley and
Susan (Phelpes) Wilson, natives of Minnesota. To Mr. and Mrs. Kjelder-
gaard have been born seven children, namely : Ada, Cirel, Alia, Erma,
Bernice, Louisa and Lisby.
Mr. Kjeldergaard has from the first taken an active interest in whatever
was for the good of the community and became one of the first interested in
the creamery at Gushing. He holds membership in the Lutheran church, to
the support of which he gives liberally of his means. He gives his political
support to the Republican party and is one of that party's most active work-
ers in this section. He is at the present time treasurer of Gushing town-
ship and is a member of the school board. His fraternal affiliation is with
the Yeomen and to ever}i;hing with which he is connected he gives the best
of his ability.
DR. SPIRIT J. VASALY.
Dr. Spirit J. Vasaly, of Little Falls, Morrison county, Minnesota, the
proprietor of an optical parlor at 104 Broadway, called "The House of Your
Most Precious Sight," is not only a well-known professional man but one
who has taken a deep interest in the mineral possibilities of this section of
the state. He is heavily interested in iron mine prospects in the range just
north of Little Falls on Belle Prairie, and has great faith that this prospect
will some day develop into one of the handsomest beds of iron ore in this
part of the country.
Spirit J. \'asaly was born in Little Falls, Minnesota, Octolier 30, 1871.
His father's sketch appears elsewhere in this volume. Spirit J- Vasaly was
educated in the common schools of Little Falls. When about fifteen years
old he became an a]5prentice to I. E. Staples, a well-known watch maker and
jeweler of this city, Init now of Portland. Oregon. Later in 1890, he went
to St. Paul, where he was employed by John Pfister, anotlier jeweler, for
one year. In 1892 Mr. Vasaly went to Ghicago where he attended the Ghi-
cago Horological School, at which instruction was also given in optical
science. After graduating from this school, lie worked in Chicago until
1894 when he came back to Little Falls and tjpened a jewelry store. In
January, 1894, Mr. Vasaly opened the "Diamond Sign Jewelry Store," which
he oiKjratcd until 1910 when he sold a half interest to E. \'. \\''etzel. Four
years later he sold the other half interest to Mr. Wetzel. Soon after sell-
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 475
ing the second half interest Mr. Vasaly went to Chicago to take a post-
graduate course in optometry, attending the Northern IlHnois College of
Optometry. On his return to Little Falls he opened the optical parlors at
104 Broadway. Dr. Vasaly already enjoys a lucrative business which is
continually increasing. He has always been a booster for his city, doing his
best to have the "White Way" installed here; also worked for the present
school site, which faces the "Father of Waters," the Mississippi.
His great faith that iron will be found in the Little Falls, Millelacs and
Carlton range has good foundation that it will prove to be a producing dis-
trict in the very near future, and he was the first to suggest naming the new
range Little Falls, Millelacs and Carlton, his main reason for giving it this
name being he wanted the name Little Falls to be put on the map in larger
type, another reason being the range would be more easily distinguished from
other ranges further north, and last but not least the range is entitled and
better explained by the name proven by the United States government report,
which stated that from all present indications large bodies of iron should be
found on this range on a line between Little Falls. Millelacs and Carlton.
He has an option on some lands besides owning eighty acres in section eight
on Belle Prairie. Everything around the prairie indicates that there is a very
good prospect for iron. What gives Mr. Vasaly more faith in the land, per-
haps, than anything else is the fact that when he first purchased the land,
through the friendship of Louis Rocheleau, an expert mining engineer, and
estimated to be worth ten million dollars, made in iron, he was able to get
Mr. Rocheleau to view the land personally. Mr. Rocheleau had his private
mining engineer with him. He found the mineral attraction to start on the
north line going clear across the eighty acres to the south line in a gradual
increase from one to eighteen. Later these figures were confirmed by a
government engineer with two perfect government dip needles, also found
on the land just south on Mr. Moran's attraction up to twenty-five. The
lay of this land and the surrounding country gave him more confidence as to
the good prospect of a large body of iron on the land. After inspection he
privately praised the prospects and called it a "peach" of an iron prospect.
This suggested to Mr. Vasaly the name "The Peach Farm." He has another
forty acres in section 3 in the Belle Prairie, on same range, and is also inter-
ested in one hundred and sixty acres in section 3, with others; and eighty
acres in section 4 with C. B. Buckman and others. The prospect for iron
is good in all these places.
Dr. Spirit J- Vasal)' is unmarried. He is an independent Republican in
politics, and a member of the French Catholic church. He is a member of
476 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
the Catholic Order of Foresters, the Equitable Fraternal Union, the Improved
Order of Redmen, Elks and Modern Woodmen of America. Doctor Vasaly
is also a member of the Commercial Club of Little Falls.
RASMUS BORGSTROM.
Perhaps no farmer of Scandia Valley township, Morrison county,
Minnesota, has been more successful since coming to America than Rasmus
Borgstrom, who is now living retired in a beautiful villa situated five rods
from the lake front of Alexander lake. When he came to Morrison county,
Minnesota, he had a family of seven children and only about five hundred
dollars, but since that time has accumulated two hundred and twenty acres
of land in Scandia Valley and Rail Prairie townships. One hundred and
sixty acres of this land is under cultivation.
Rasmus Borgstrom was bom on September lo, 1851, in Skane, Sweden,
and is the son of Andres and Enger (Person) Borgstrom, who had five chil-
dren: Jens, Olivia, and Olaf are deceased, the first-named dying when
twenty-two years old ; Pear lives in Sweden.
Mr. Borgstrom's father was born in 1821, in Sweden, and was a laborer
in his native land. He died in 1874. Mr. Borgstrom's mother was born
in 1820, in Sweden, and died in 1880.
One year after his mother's death, Mr. Borgstrom came to America.
He had attended the schools of his native land and had farmed and worked
in the coal mines, before coming to this country. Three years lie fore leaving
Sweden, he was married. Mr. and Mrs. Borgstrom first settled at Irvine,
Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, where he worked in the coal mines until
1893. In 1893 the family came to Morrison county and purchased one hun-
dred and sixty acres of timber and brush land in section 25, of' Scandia
Valley township, for which Mr. Borgstrom paid five dollars an acre. He
built a story-and-a-half house with four rooms on the north side of Alexander
lake, and a little later built a barn sixteen by thirty feet. In 1912 he built a
cottage of four rooms, thoroughly modern, within five rods of the water's
edge of Alexander lake, and now has a beautiful view of the whole lake.
His farm is one of the most extensively improved of any in Morrison county.
Mr. Borgstrom has suffered many hardships, but by hard work he has been
able to lay aside rather a large competence for his declining years. He has
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 477
always kept a high grade of Hve stock, and has in various ways become well-
known throughout Morrison county.
In 1877 Rasmus Borgstrom was married, in Sweden, to Nellie Ander-
son, who was bom on October 23, 1854. She is the daughter of Andres and
Allak Sophia (Donar) Lumberg, both of whom were natives of Sweden, the
father dying in 1866, at the age of fifty-four, and the mother in 1905, at the
age of ninety-three. Mr. and Mrs. Borgstrom have had eight children, as
follow: John A. operates the home place; Charles is an engineer of the
Northern Pacific railroad and resides at Dilworth, Minnesota; Mrs. Annie
Nelson resides at Rail Prairie; Harry W. resides at Rail Prairie; Martin A.
is deceased; Emil lives at Fargo, North Dakota; Richard and Peter both
work in North Dakota. All the children except John were born in America.
Mr. and Mrs. Borgstrom are members of the Swedish Lutheran church.
In politics, Mr. Borgstrom has been prominent ever since coming to America.
He is especially prominent in the politics of Morrison county, having served
for eighteen years as chairman of the Republican township committee of
Scandia Valley township. He also has served on the school board. In
the largest sense Rasmus Borgstrom has amply proved his claim to the high-
est esteem of the people of Morrison county, the esteem which he enjoys in
a very large measure.
FRANK W. LYON.
Among the prominent citizens and able and successful attorneys of
Morrison county, Minnesota, none holds a higher position in the esteem of
the people than Frank W. Lyon, at the present time serving as municipal
judge of Little Falls. Frank W. Lyon is a native of the state of Illinois,
born in Stark county, November 18, 1856, son of C. M. S. Lyon, who was
born in 1816, and S. Eliza (Rhodes) Lyon. The latter was born in Pennsyl-
vania and when a young girl was brought west by her parents, who settled
in Illinois, and there she met and married the man whose devoted wife she
was for so many years. C. M. S. Lyon was born in the country near Albany.
New York, and went to Illinois in 1837, where he bought a considerable tract
of land. He was a blacksmith by trade and followed that occupation, in
connection with his farm work, all the active years of his life. He died in
1897 at the advanced age of eighty-one years, having been an active and
influential man all his life. He went to Illinois when that section of the
478 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
State was in its early pioneer days and did mucli to l>ring about better condi-
tions in the new territory.
Frank W. Lyon was one of a family of eleven children, six of whom
died before reaching maturity. He attended the common schools near his
home in Stark county, Illinois, remaining at his studies until sixteen years of
age. Then for the two following years he was a teacher in the rural dis-
tricts. In search of higher education he entered Knox College at Gales-
burg, Illinois, remaining there until his senior year, when he abandoned the
line of study he was then pursuing and took up the reading of law in the
office of J. H. Miller, at Toulon, Illinois. He remained there for some time
and then for his finishing studies he went into the office of Judge S. B.
Puterbaugh, at Peoria, and in that city was admitted to practice at the bar,
b\' examination before the supreme court in June of 1882. He returned
to Toulon and opened an office for the practice of his chosen profession,
remaining in that city until 1885, when he moved to Minneapolis. He
remained there but two years and in the fall of 1887 he came to Little Falls,
Morrison county, which city he has since made his home.
Since locating in Little Falls, Judge Lyon has been counted one of the
leading attorneys of the county, and in 1888, just one year after coming here,
as an evidence of the esteem in which he was held, he was elected on the
Republican ticket to the office of county attorney for Morrison county, which
office he most efficiently filled for eight years. He also served as city
attorney of Little Falls for two years (1890-91). Judge Lyon has always
taken especial interest in the cause of education and as an earnest of this
fact, he was for fifteen consecutive years a member of the school board of
Little Falls, (|uitting that body in 1910. His election to the municipal judge-
ship of his city occurred in the spring of 1915, with a four-year term to be
filled, and in tliis honor which has just been conferred upon him, Judge Lyon
will give the same satisfaction to his fellow citizens as he has in times past.
Judge Lyon is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Red
Men of .America, and Knights of the Maccaliees. Judge and Mrs. Lyon
were married on March i, 1883, and to tlieir union have been born three
daughters: Fthel, wife of W. W. P>rain, residing at Brainerd, Minnesota;
Helen R., wife of C. C. Wright, of Minneapolis, and Gertrude K. Mrs.
Lyon, who before her marriage was Helen G. Thompson, was born on
September 3, 1861, at Pekin, Illinois, and received an excellent education in
the schools of her native city. She is a charming and agreeable woman,
much admired in the circles in which she moves.
Judge Lyon has long since demonstrated the high quality of his man-
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 479
hood and citizenship, for since the first of his residence here he has taken
an active position in all matters pertaining to the advancement of the best
interests of the city. Personally, he is a genial and companionable gentle-
man, well read and thoroughly informed on the leading questions of the day
and is eminently deserving of the marked popularity which he enjoys.
HANS C. ANDERSEN.
Hans C. Andersen is a successful farmer of Rail Prairie township, Mor-
rison county, Minnesota. He is a native of Denmark, born on May 9, 1866.
Mr. Andersen's parents were Christian and Kathrine (Hanson) Andersen,
the former of whom was born about 1837, in Denmark, and who died in his
native land in 1907. He was a merchant and farmer. Mr. Andersen's
mother, Kathrine (Hanson) Andersen, who was born in 1833, in Denmark,
visited her sons in America in 1905, and died in her native land in igikl-.
She was the mother of seven children, three of whom are living.
Hans C. Andersen left his native land in 1889 at the age of twenty-
three years, and, after arriving in America, settled in Morrison county,
Minnesota, where he worked as a laborer on various farms for two years.
In 1 89 1 he purchased eighty acres of brush and timber land in section 19, of
Rail Prairie township, which he improved by the erection of a frame house
and a log barn. In 1908 he built a more commodious hay and stock barn
and has built an addition to the house. Mr. Andersen now owns two hun-
dred and eighty acres of land, all of which except thirty-five acres is under
cultivation, and has the very finest fields in the township. He makes a
specialty of raising grain and stock of all kinds.
In 1892, three years after his arrival in America, Hans C. Andersen
was married to Henrietta Peterson, who was born on February 24, 1858,
in Norway, and who left her native land in 1882, settling in Sherburne
county, Minnesota. Mrs. Andersen has borne her husband six children :
Mrs. Emma Bergstrom lives in Rail Prairie township; Mrs. Anna J. Olson
lives in Ripley township ; Goldie, Hans, Cora and Paul are at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Andersen and family are members of the Lutheran
church. Mr. Andersen is independent in politics. Beginning in 1895 he
.served twelve years as clerk of Rail Prairie township and is now a member
of the school board of district No. 47. He is also township supervisor of
Rail Prairie township.
480 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
RT. REV. MGR. EDWARD JOHN NAGL.
Born in Landskron, Bohemia, November 29, 1849, the Rt. Rev. Mgr.
Edward John Nagl, now the spiritual director to the Franciscan Sisters at
the hospital and orphanage of Little Falls, is one of the well-known church-
men in this part of Minnesota. Few men have had more to do with carry-
ing the gospel into the pioneer communities of this state than he. In 1901
he had conferred upon him the honorary title of Domestic Prelate of the
Pope and hence the title of Monsignor, which is equal to that of prince and
second only to that of bishop. In fact, he has twice had charge of the
affairs of this diocese in the absence of the bishop, who was on a visit to
Rome. Only his age and his poor health have stood in the way of his
election to bishop.
The Rt. Rev. Mgr. Edward J. Nagl is the son of John and Theresa
Nagl, natives of Bohemia, who came to America in 1868, living here until
their death. The son attended school in Bohemia until he came to America.
After landing at New York, he went to Watertown, Wisconsin, where he
had friends, and while sojourning there he decided to study for the priest-
hood. At the end of a two months' visit, he went to St. Vincent University,
in Pennsylvania, and there studied philosophy for one year. Afterward he
entered St. John's University, at St. Paul, Minnesota, and was a student of
theology there for two years. He was ordained into the minor order on
.Se]:)tember 22, 25, 26 and 27, 1876, and ordained to the holy priesthood on
September 28, 1876, by Bishop Seidenbusch. He celebrated his first holy
mass on October 15, 1876, at St. Cloud, and after his ordination remained
with the bishop at St. Cloud, Minnesota, for two months and then took charge
of a mission at North Prairie, Minnesota. During the next .seventeen years,
when he was stationed at North Prairie, Minnesota, he built a parish house
and a magnificent church. During this period, he also had charge of mis-
sions at Elmdale, Minnesota, and also built a new church at that place.
.'\fter seventeen years, Father Nagl was assigned to the parish at Pierz,
Minnesota, where he remained for five years. There he built a parochial
school. He was next stationed at St. Augusta, Minnesota, where he had
charge of a mission for thirteen and one-half years. While at St. Augusta,
his health failed and he was compelled to leave. He came to Little Falls
from St. Augusta and here has served as spiritual director to the Franciscan
.Sisters, who have charge of the hospital and orphanage.
The Rt. Rev. Mgr. Edward J. Nagl is one of the widely-beloved men
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MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 481
of Morrison county. He has been a blessing to his faith and has left in his
wake an intiuence which has made the world brighter and better. He has
been the general vicar of the diocese of St. Cloud for twenty-three years.
FRANKLIN PIERCE FARROW.
Among the business men of long standing and enviable reputation in
Little Falls, Morrison county, Minnesota, is Franklin Pierce Farrow, a native
of Morrison county, born on March 28, 1857.
Franklin Pierce Farrow is the son of Charles and Kathryne (Nash)
Farrow, who were natives of the state of Maine and who came to Morrison
county in 1855, shortly after their marriage, two years before Franklin
Pierce Farrow was born.
Minnesota was then a territory. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Farrow settled
hrst on Green Prairie, where they took a homestead of one hundred and
sixty acres. The land, however, was not surveyed in those days and so they
merely staked off what they believed to be one hundred and sixty acres.
This was all wild country and there were no roads anywhere. Building a
house, they lived on the land until the outbreak of the Civil War, about three
years later, when Charles Farrow moved the family to what was then known
as St. Anthony, now Minneapolis, and enlisted in Company A, Ninth Regi-
ment, Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, in 1861. He served with the Ninth
Minnesota until 1865.
In the spring of 1866 the Farrows moved to Two Rivers township,
Morrison county, taking a claim of one hundred and sixty acres in section 6.
This country was also wild and there were very few roads. Mr. Farrow
was compelled to build one and one-half miles of road to reach his claim.
Afterward he built a log house and cleared a part of the land, but worked
in the lumber camp most of the time. He lived on this farm until 1881,
when he sold out to his son, Franklin Pierce, and moved to Little Falls.
There he worked in the saw-mill for several years and helped to build the
dam across the Mississippi. Subsequently, he lived in Royalton for several
years, but finally moved to Little Falls, where he died on March 13, 1907,
when past eighty years of age. By his marriage to. Kathryne Nash five
children were born : Mrs. Emma Trask, Charity, Mrs. Cassius Tibbets,
Franklin Pierce and Mrs. Dora Tuttle. Charles Farrow was a member of
the Methodist church and the Masonic fraternity.
(31)
4^2 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Named for President Franklin Pierce, P'ranklin Pierce Farrow was
educated at St. Anthony, now Minneapolis, and in the schools of Morrison
county. He lived with his parents until his marriage. Shortly before that
he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land from Nick Shafer, located
in section 7, Two Rivers township. Part of the land was improved and he
started housekeeping in a log house. After living on this farm for about
four years, he sold out to Anthony Snyder, who still lives on the place. He
then removed to Royalton, Minnesota, and opened the first butcher shop in
the town. He bought native stock and did his own butchering. After being
in Royalton for four and one-half years, Mr. Farrow moved to Little Falls,
purchasing a meat market there, which he operated for seven and one-half
years and selling out to a man named Zalondeck.
A little later Mr. Farrow built the Columbia hotel, which he operated
for a few months and then rented it. A year later he sold it and was*
appointed chief of police under Mayor Staples, which office he held for one
year. He then bought a farm two and one-half miles southeast of Little
Falls and engaged in the stock and dairy business. After seven years he
sold out and purchased the livery barn from P. H. Newman, which he has
operated ever since.
In 1907 Mr. Farrow bought an old chain-drive Reo automobile, which
was the third car in Morrison county. He used this car in the liver)' business,
but since that time has owned many other cars. In 1908 he purchased a
garage where the opera house stands, which he operated until January 19,
1912, when it caught fire and burned, Mr. Farrow losing heavily. One man
lost his life in the fire.
After the fire of 1912, Mr. b'arrow purchased a iiuilding on First street
and established the garage there which he now owns. He does repairing and
general auto livery. Mr. Farrow is agent for the Empire and Maxwell cars
and operates an auto truck line between Little Falls and Pierz.
Mr. Farrow's wife, who, before her marriage, was Sara J. Muncey, was
born in Maine. She came to Minnesota with her ])arents when a small girl
and settled in .Swan River township. There she lived until her marriage.
Mr. and Mrs. Farrcjw have had seven children, as follow: Rhoda Wals-
worth, G. Warren, Charles, Gordon and three children who are deceased.
Franklin Pierce b^arrow is identified with tlie Democratic party but has
never been especially active in politics. He is a member of the Independent
Order of Odd P'ellows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a
past grand in the Odd l""ellows. During tiie life of the Knights of Pythias
lodge in this place he was a member of that order.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 483
J. H. NEWMAN, D. V. S.
As a farmer and veterinary surgeon, probably no man in Morrison
county has achieved a more pronounced success than Dr. J. H. Newman of
Little Falls. He is not only a farmer of large holdings in this county but
he is also a veterinary surgeon and enjoys an extensive practice. Because
of the success he has achieved, he has gained for himself a reputation which
extends far beyond the borders of his own locality. Good judgment, keen
discrimination, good common sense and adequate preparation have entered
into his makeup and are responsible for his success.
J. H. Newman is a native of Pierz, Minnesota, born on November 24,
1877. He is the son of P. H. and Gertrude (Dippen) Newman, the former
of whom was born at Madison, Wisconsin, as was the latter also. Both
were educated at Madison and lived with their parents until their marriage.
Mr. and Mrs. P. H. Newman came to Morrison county shortly after their
marriage and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land near Pierz,
where they built a small frame house about fourteen by sixteen feet, suffer-
ing the privations of pioneer life. Subsequently, they sold out and removed
to Pierz, where Mr. Newman engaged in the hotel business, then traded the
hotel for a farm in Buh township, where he remained two years then came
to Little Falls, where he engaged in the livery business three years and where
he also operated a meat market. After conducting these two businesses for
several years, he sold out and erected a brick building at the corner of Second
street and First avenue, where he opened a livery and sales stable. He
operated this livery and sales stable until 1896, when he sold out to F. P.
Farrow. Two years later he completed a brick building one door south of
the Farrow livery and started a sales stable, which he operated until his
death.
During the years he was in business, P. H. Newman invested in land
in this section. At the time of his death, he owned about eight hundred
acres, part of which was under cultivation. He was a Republican in politics
and for many years treasurer of the Elk lodge. By his marriage to Gertrude
Dippen there was a large family of children born, among whom were the
following: Margaret died early in life; Mrs. Kathryne Brown; Peter L. ;
Dr. J. H., the subject of this sketch; Dr. H. C., a veterinary surgeon at
Wadena, Minnesota; Louis died early in life; Dr. W. P., of Perkam, Minne-
sota; Mrs. Anna Carlysle, Mrs. Mayme Ward, Dean Bracke, and others who
died young.
484 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
J. H. Newman attended the Catholic school at Pierz a few terms and
then finished his elementary education in Little Falls. He worked for his
father in the horse business when a lad, and about 1890 was taken in as a
partner. He continued in the horse business until 1896, when he entered
the Chicago Veterinary College and attended school for one term. After-
wards he returned to the business and continued with his father until 1901.
He then re-entered the veterinary college, completed the course and gradu-
ated in 1903. Doctor Newman practiced his profession in St. Cloud, Minne-
sota, for one year and in 1904 opened an office in Little Falls, in the build-
ing where his father had last operated the sales stable.
Dr. J. H. Newman is an extensive landowner, having more than one
thousand acres in Morrison and Crow Wing counties, most of which is
improved land. He is a practical farmer and one who is especially inter-
ested in stock raising. He has large herds of cattle, sheep and hogs and
also owns a great many fine horses. Doctor Newman likewise owns city
property. He uses an automobile in his profession and to visit his farms.
Doctor Newman's wife before her marriage was Maze Walz, a native
of St. Cloud, Minnesota.
A Republican in politics. Doctor Newman is now serving as alderman
of the second ward of Little Falls. He has been a member of the Elks lodge
for many years. One of Doctor Newman's hobbies is good roads, and few
men have done more to promote their building in this county than he.
EDWARD M. ROSENBERG.
Edward M. Rosenberg, assistant cashier of the Farmers State Bank, at
Bertha, Todd county. Minnesota, is a native of Chicago. Illinois, where he
was born on July 25, 1875. Mr. Rosenberg is the son of Edward C. and
Johanna (Aim) Rosenljerg, natives of Germany, the former of whom was
born on August 5, 1842, and the latter born on February 2, 1841.
Edward C. Rosenberg was educated in the public schools of Germany
and, because of an injury to his foot suffered when a young man, he escaped
military service. In 1868 he immigrated to America with his wife. They
landed at New York City and went direct to Barbadoo, Wisconsin, where
they had friends. After living in Wisconsin and working as a laborer for
a few years, Edward C. Rosenberg, after the Chicago fire, moved to Chicago
in order to assist some friends who had lost everything in that great fire.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 485
He lived in Chicago and worked as a laborer there for five years and then
moved to a farm near Chicago, where he was a tenant for several years.
In the spring of 1886, he came to Todd county, Minnesota, purchasing one
hundred and sixty acres of land in sections 17 and 18, of Bertha township.
In the fall of the same year, the Rosenberg family came to Todd county and
settled on the farm, which, with the exception of four acres, was all timber
land. Here Mr. Rosenberg built a small frame house and in a short time
began to clear the land. In the spring of 1887, he rented a small tract a
few miles away and put out a crop. In the meantime, he was engaged in
clearing his own land and lived on the farm until the spring of 1900, when
most of the land had been cleared. At that time he sold out and moved to
Bertha, Minnesota. His wife died on November 12, 1900, and, after her
death, he moved to Chicago, where he lived until his death on July 25, 1905.
Mrs. Johanna Rosenberg, who had come to the United States with her
husband, was the mother of nine children, three of whom are now living,
August J., Mrs. Caroline Steinberg, and Edward M., the subject of this
sketch. The deceased children are, Minnie, Charles, Henry, Louis and two
who died in infancy. Of the living children, August J. is a farmer in section
28, of Bertha township. He married Emma Mueller and has five children,
August, John, Edward, Gertrude and Ella. Mrs. Caroline Steinberg is the
wife of E. C. Steinberg, a farmer in section 16, of Bertha township. They
have six children, John, Irene, Arthur, Carl, Alfred and August.
Edward M. Rosenberg received a part of his education in the state of
Illinois, but was educated mostly in the district schools of Bertha township.
Mr. Rosenberg made his home with his parents and assisted on the farm
until his marriage on May 9, 1900, to Clara Siegel. Mr. Rosenberg and his
young bride began housekeeping on eighty acres of land in section 21, of
Bertha township, which he had received from his father. It was wild timber
land and very little of the land was cleared. During the next few years, he
cleared a considerable part of the land and engaged in the dairy business
until March, 1908, when he purchased one hundred and forty acres in section
28, of Bertha township, two-thirds of which was cleared and well improved.
There Mr. Rosenberg conducted a dairy on a large scale until the death of
his wife in the fall of 1913. Afterward, he had an auction sale and disposed
of his personal property and moved to Bertha, renting the one-hundred-and-
forty-acre farm to Charles Murphy. Mr. Rosenberg has sold his first eighty-
acre farm, but still owns one hundred and forty acres. He also owns resi-
dence property in Bertha. After moving to Bertha, Mr. Rosenberg worked
for the Bottemiller Company in a general store, and while there was asked
486 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
to apply for the position as assistant cashier of the Farmers State Bank.
Mr. Rosenberg obtained that position on January 5, 191 5, and still holds it.
He is quite familiar with all phases of modem banking and is making a most
pronounced success of his new vocation.
Mr. Rosenberg's first wife, Clara Siegel, was born in Saxony, Germany,
on October 9, 1876, and was educated in her native land. She came to
America at the age of fourteen years with her parents, who settled in Bertha
township, and made her home with her parents until her marriage. At the
time of her death, October 21, 1913, she was survived by a family of six
children, Johanna, Martha, Selma, Albert, Helen and Hildegard. On Decem-
ber 30, 1914, Mr. Rosenberg was married to Emma Geadke, a native of
Germany, who had come to America when a small child.
Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg and family are members of the German Luth-
eran church. As an independent Republican Mr. Rosenberg has served as
township supervisor for a term of three years and also as township clerk
for a period of three years.
VICTOR SCHALLERN.
There is no positive rule for achieving success, and yet in the life of the
successful man there are always lessons which may be followed. The man
who gains prosperity is he who can see and utilize the opportunities that
come his way. The essential conditions of human life are e\er the same,
the surroundings of individuals differing but little. When one man passes
another on the highway of life, it is because he has the power to use the
advantages which fall within the purview of the race. Today among the
prominent citizens and successful business men of Little Falls, Morrison
county, Minnesota, is Victor Schallern, a real estate and insurance dealer,
and, since 1912, city clerk of Little Falls. Keen discrimination, sound judg-
ment and executive ability enter very largely into his make-up and have
contributed as imjjortant elements in his material success.
Victor Schallern was born on December 14, 1861, at Mansfield, Ohio,
the son of Doctor Reiner and Anna (Hirschberg) von Schallern, both of
whom were born and married in their native land, Germany. Dr. Reiner
von Schallern was born about 1824 and was engaged in the practice of
medicine all of his life. He was a graduate of the University of Heidelberg.
He took part in the Revolution of 1848 and, on account of the perils of living
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 487
in Germany after that revolution was suppressed, came to the United States
when about thirty years old. Landing in New York City, he took charge of
a tuberculosis camp on Ward Island, New York, holding this position for a
couple of years. Afterwards he practiced medicine for a time in Cleveland,
later in Mansfield, where his son, Victor, was born, and still later in Colum-
bus. About 1862 Dr. Reiner Schaliern enlisted in Company I, Forty-eighth
Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, as a surgeon and served throughout
the Civil War. His oldest son, Ottmar, was hospital steward in the same
company.
After the war Doctor Schaliern returned to Columbus, Ohio, where
he remained only a short time and then moved to Pennsylvaniaburg, near
Versailles, in the state of Indiana. There he purchased a farm but also prac-
ticed his profession. Subsequently, he moved to Batesville and then to
Manitowac, Wisconsin, where he resumed his practice as a physician. After
remaining in Manitowac for about six years. Doctor Schaliern moved to
Ripon, in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, also practicing there. While liv-
ing at Ripon he had gone to New York in the interest of a patent, which
was designated as the "nautical hodometer," and while in New York City
took sick and died, at the age of fifty-six years. Doctor Schaliern was a
Republican in politics and a member of the German Lutheran church. He
was a member of the Masonic lodge and had joined the lodge in Germany.
He was a high officer in the Sun lodge.
Mrs. Reiner Schaliern was also born in Germany about 1826. She
became the mother of eight children and lived to be seventy years old, passing
away in 1896. Of the Schaliern children, Eugene, who died of exposure
during the Civil War, Ida and Ottmar, the three eldest, were born in Ger-
many. The others are Bruno, Lily, Arthur, Victor and Bertha, the last of
whom was the wife of Reverend Becker. She is now deceased.
Victor Schaliern, the youngest in a family of eight children, was edu-
cated in the public schools of Manitowac, Wisconsin, in the Ripon high
school and in Ripon College, where he was a student for three years. After
finishing his education, Mr. Schaliern took a position as a clerk in the post-
office at Ripon, which he held for two years.
In June, 1883, Mr. Schaliern came to Little Falls, accepting a position
with the Morrison County State Bank, where he remained for eight years.
In 1 89 1 he established a real estate and insurance business, which he operated
alone until 1896, when he took as a partner Simon P. Brich. The arrange-
ment continued two years, until 1899, when Mr. Schaliern purchased the
488 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
interest of his partner. In the same year he entered into partnership with
Lyman Signor, and this firm has continued ever since.
In 1899 Victor Schallern served as enrohing clerk of the Minnesota
state Senate, and one year later was taken ill with fever and confined in
bed for almost a year. His brother, who is a physician, attended him. In
March, 1912, Mr. Schallern was elected city clerk for a term of one year and
has been re-elected continuously ever since.
On September 15, 1886, Victor Schallern was married to Carrie Brown,
a native of Bloomington, near Minneapolis, who was born in 1863, the
daughter of John Brown, a native of this state. Mr. and Mrs. Schallern
have been the parents of three daughters. Hazel L., Florence C. and Carol
E., two of whom are living at home.
Since coming to Little Falls, Victor Schallern has been prominent in the
councils of the Republican party. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen
of America and the Ancient Order of United Workmen of America, in which
he served as financier for ten years, and the Improved Order of Red Men.
Mr. Schallern is one of the substantial citizens of this city and one of its
best-known men.
FRANK A. NELSON.
Frank A. Nelson, a prominent photographer of Little Falls, Minnesota,
who is also a stockholder in the Merchants State Bank, the local agent for
the Paige-Detroit and Mitchell automobiles and who is interested in Morri-
son county real estate, is a native of the southern part of Sweden, where he
was born on December 28, 1872.
Mr. Nelson is the son of Nels and Ellen Person, the former of whom
was born in 1830 and the latter in 1829. Both were reared in Sweden and
were married in their native land. Nels Person was a farmer who lived in
Sweden until 1903, when he .sold out and came to .\merica. He settled at
Center City, in Chisago county, Minnesota, and died there in 1913. at the
age of eighty-three years. His wife is still living and is now^ eightv-six
years old. She bore her husband seven children, all of whom grew to matur-
ity. Frank A. Nelson, the subject of this sketch, is the voungest.
Mr. Nelson was educated in the district schools of his native land, and
when twenty years old came to America, landing in New York City. After-
ward he went on to Minneapolis and was there em])loyed as a machinist for
one year. In i8i)o. in partnership with his brother, Peter J. Nelson, he
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 489
opened a photograph gallery at Anoka, Minnesota, and remained there for
four years. In 1897 Mr. Nelson came to Little Falls and opened a gallery
on First street, southwest, remaining in that location until 1908, when he
built a combined gallery and residence on Broadway East, which he still
owns.
On October 17, 1900, Frank A. Nelson was married to Willa V. Ekland,
a native of Grove City, Minnesota, who was born in 1873. Mrs. Nelson
was educated in the Grove City public schools and has borne her husband
two children, Frank Victor and Floyd Edward, both of whom are attending
school.
Mr. Nelson is independent in politics. He is a member of the Modern
Woodmen of America and is the past consul of the local lodge. Not
only has Mr. Nelson made a financial success of his career in America but
he has won what is far better than money, the esteem and the confidence of
his fellow townsmen. He has a host of friends in Morrison county.
BARNEY BURTON.
Barney Burton, a prosperous merchant of Little Falls, Morrison county,
Minnesota, where he handles a complete line of clothing and men's furnish-
ings, is a native of Peoria, Illinois, where he was born on February 7, 1867.
Barney Burton is the son of Isaac and Sarah Burton, the former of
whom was born in Poland and came to America when a young man. He
settled in Peoria, Illinois, and, after his marriage, moved to Wisconsin,
where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land and divided his
attention between farming and logging. After having lived in the state of
Wisconsin for forty-eight years, he died at Somerset many years ago, at the
age of eighty-six. Mrs. Sarah Burton was a native of Germany, who
accompanied her parents to America when a small girl and lived near Peoria,
Illinois, where she met and was married to Isaac Burton. She died in the
same year as her husband, at the age of seventy-seven. There were eight
children born to Isaac and Sarah Burton. Louis, Samuel, Barbara, Anna,
Elizabeth, Jacob, Barney and Mitchell.
Barney Burton accompanied his parents to Wisconsin when he was a
child of only two years. He grew up in the state of Wisconsin and was
educated in the rural schools, living with his parents and working on the
farm until fourteen vears old. Afterward, until he was eighteen years old.
490 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
he worked in the woods and, at the age of eighteen, went to St. Cloud,
Minnesota, where, with his brother, Jacob, as a partner, lie engaged in the
clothing and men's furnishing business. In 1886 they moved to Little Falls,
seeking a better location. Mr. Burton's store in Little Falls was in the old
Simmons building on Broadway. His business proved a success and five
years later he and his brother dissolved partnership, Barney Burton retaining
the business. The business grew from month to month until it was finally
necessary to seek larger quarters. The store was moved to the building now
occupied by the postoftice and later to the Rider building. The business kept
on growing and Mr. Burton finally found it necessary to move into the large
Kiewel building. From time to time the stock has been enlarged, until he
now has the most complete line of shoes, clothing, men's furnishings, dr\'-
goods and ladies' ready-to-wear apparel to be found in Morrison county. Not
only this, but the Burton store is the largest mercantile establishment in
Morrison county. Mr. Burton has a branch store at Pierz besides other sub-
stantial interests.
On July 6, 1898, Barney Burton was married to Josephine Deutsch. of
Minneaix)lis. Mrs. Burton was born in Minneapolis and was educated in
the public schools of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Burton are the parents of
four children, Regina, Richard, Mildred and Harold.
Mr. Burton is an independent voter. He is a member of the Masonic
lodge and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is active in the
affairs of the Little b'alls Commercial Club, but has ne\er been active in
politics.
GEORGE M. -A. FORrib'.R, .M. D.
The man who devotes his talents and energy to the noble work of
administering to the ills of humanity pursues a calling which in dignity and
importance is second to no other. He is indeed a benefactor to all mankind,
for to liim more than any other man are entrusted the safety, the comfort
and in many instances the lives of those who come under his care, .\mong
the well-known and able ])hysicians and surgeons of Morrison county, Minne-
sota, is Dr. George M. .\. l*"ortier, the present mayor of Little Falls, who
for many years has stood without a su])erior in Morrison county. He
realized early in his career that to obtain a large measure of success in the
medical profession, technical ability must be sup])lemented by broad human
sympathy. Not only has Doctor Fortier taken a pride in and honored the
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 49 1
profession by noble services, but he has filled many positions of trust and
political responsibility.
George M. A. Fortier, who is the son of the late Moe Fortier, for many
years a member of the Canadian Parliament, was born on April 15, 1857, at
St. David, province of Quebec, Dominion of Canada. Doctor Fortier is the
son of Moe and Matilda (Paradis) Fortier, the former of whom was born
near Quebec, on the Isle of Olean, November 6, 1815, and who, when seven-
teen years of age, moved to Yamaska, six miles from St. David, where for
a number of years he clerked in the store owned by his father-in-law. After
working in the store for four years he was married, and in 1836 removed to
St. David, where he purchased a stock of general merchandise and operated
the store until his death, October 17, 1877, when he was sixty-two years old.
He purchased farmer's produce, everything from an egg to an ox, and did
an extensive business. He purchased and sold cordwood and lumber, which
he floated down the river to Montreal. He was a Liberal in politics, and a
member of Parliament for fifteen years, at both Quebec and Ottawa. He
was mayor of St. David for many years and also mayor of the county for
many years. He was elected a member of Parliament in 1867, and as a con-
sequence of this election there was a contest which extended over a period of
three months, but Moe Fortier finally won the contest.
Mrs. Matilda (Paradis) Fortier was born on April 14, 1812. She lived
to be sixty-seven years old, passing away on April 19, 1879. She bore her
husband eleven children, of whom seven grew to maturity. George M. A.
was the youngest of the family.
Reared in St. David until thirteen years old, George M. A. Fortier then
entered Nicollet College, where he remained for four years. Afterward he
attended Montreal College, graduating from the classical course at the age
of twenty years. Afterward he attended the medical college of Victoria
University, now Laval University, and was graduated from the medical
department in 1881. On June 7, 1881. he came to Little Falls, Morrison
county, Minnesota, and began the practice of medicine. He has followed the
practice of medicine and surgery at Little Falls continuously from 1881, a
period of thirty- four years.
It is hardly too much to say that Doctor Fortier is the leading physician
and surgeon in Morrison county, and that in his career as a physician and
surgeon he has enjoyed perhaps the most lucrative practice of any physician
in the county. This large practice is not a matter of accident, but is due first
to his superior training and second to his natural tendency for the healing
art.
492 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
On September lo, 1883, George M. A. Fortier was married to Petronilla
R. Vasaly, who was born in Italy on February 2, 1865, and who came to
America with her parents, Louis and Frances (Riberi) Vasaly, when a small
girl. Mrs. Fortier's father, Louis Vasaly. was born in Switzerlajul in 1823,
and her mother at Lemonia. Italy, near Florence, about 1839. Some nine
years after his marriage in Switzerland, Louis V^asaly came to America,
serving in a Minnesota regiment in the Civil War. After settling at Ft.
Ripley, he was soon a]jpointed quartermaster, a position which he held until
the close of the war. He then returned to Switzerland and brought back
with him his wife and two children, Stephen and Leila. The family returned
to Ft. Ripley and continued to live there, Louis Vasaly operating a general
store, in the fort, which he had established during the war. A little later,
Charley Vasaly, another son, was born under the stars and stripes of the
fort. After selling out the store at Ft. Ripley, the Vasaly family removed
to Little Falls, where Louis Vasaly purchased the hotel from Peter Hoy.
calling it the Vasaly House. It was located at the corner of First street and
Broadway, where the Kievel block now stands. Louis \'asaly was also a
pharmacist, having learned the profession in his native land. Besides having
a large general store in Little Falls, he also owned a drug store. After
selling the hotel, he opened a wagon and blacksmith shop and feed mill.
About 1890 he sold his various properties and opened a feed and flour-mill,
which he continued to operate for three or four years, when he again sold
out. having in the meantime become interested in iiuproxed real estate. He
lived to eighty-one years old, passing away at Little Falls on May 4, 1904.
In politics, Louis Vasaly was an independent Repul)lican. He was a member
of the French Catholic church. Frances (Rebery) X'asaly, mother of Mrs.
Fortier, bore her husband ten children, of whom two died in infancy. The
names of the children, in the order of their l)irth. are as follow: Stephen,
Mrs. Liela Fortier, Charles, Spirit J., I'eter, deceased; Peter, the second;
Mrs. Rose Kasparek and Louis.
Dr. and Mrs. George M. .A.. Fortier have had twelve children, of whom
two, Sophia and Muriel, are deceased. The living children are Edward L.,
Stephen R., i'Vances, .\lnia. Rose, .\ngela, .Vnnette. Charles, George, Louis
and Clare.
Doctor Fortier is a Democrat in politics. He was elected to the city
council in 1887 and again in i88(), serving two terms. He also served twelve
years as coroner and has served as city physician and as a member of the
board of health at different times. In 1914 he was elected mayor of Little
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 493
Falls, and is the first Frenchman to hold this important office. He was
elected the first time by acclamation and was re-elected by acclamation. Doc-
tor Fortier has also been United States pension examiner and United States
marine examiner.
PHIL S. RANDALL.
Phil S. Randall, a native of Montpelier, Vermont, born on May 7, 1865,
and now a well-known citizen of Little Falls, Minnesota, holds the position
of justice of the peace and city engineeer. With the exception of two years
he has served as city enginer since 1905. He has served as justice of the
peace in Little Falls since 1909. Formerly he served as county surveyor for
three and one-half years. Mr. Randall comes from a distinguished family,
his father, Francis V. Randall, having commanded the Thirteenth Regiment,
Vermont Volunteer Infantry, at the battle of Gettysburg, and turned the
force of General Picket's charge by an effective and timely flank movement,
Phil S. Randall is the son of Francis V. and Fanny G. (Colby) Ran-
dall. Col. Francis \^ Randall was born at Braintree, Orange county, Ver-
mont, February 13, 1824. His early educational advantages were limited.
Since he was the second in a family of nine children, he was able to attend
school only three months. Afterward he worked for his father in the grist-
mill but, being ambitious to do greater things, he read law at home, having
borrowed books from Judge Heman Carpenter, an attorney-at-law living
near his home. After a time he taught school for two or three winters to
assist in paying his expenses and then went into the office of Judge Carpen-
ter and studied law for a few years. Afterward he moved to Roxbury, Ver-
mont, and still later to Montpelier, Vermont, where he opened a law office
and did a very successful business until the breaking out of the Civil War.
In 1 86 1 Francis V. Randall was elected captain of Company F, Second
Regiment, Vermont Volunteer Infantry, .\fter serving in that capacity
for one and one-half years, he was appointed colonel of the Thirteenth Regi-
ment, Vermont Volunteer Infantry, and after nine months was appointed
colonel of the Seventeenth Regiment, Vermont Volunteer Infantry, a posi-
tion which he held until the close of the war.
After the war, Col. Francis V. Randall resumed the practice of law, in
which he continued until his death, on March i, 1885, at North Field, Ver-
mont. He was a Democrat in politics, justice of the peace, a member of the
Legislature for three terms and postmaster of North Field.
494 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Mrs. Fanny G. (Colby) Randall was bom at Topshan, Orange county,
Vermont. When she was a small child her parents moved to Candia, Rock-
ingham county, New Hampshire, and then to South New Market, New
Hampshire, where she was married. Col. and Mrs. Francis V. Randall
were the parents of three children, Phil S., the subject of this sketch; Gur-
don, who died in infancy, and Volney L., a druggist at Wilton, McLean
county, North Dakota.
Phil S. Randall attended a private school until ten years old and then
moved, with his parents, to Brookfield, Orange county, Vermont, where he
attended the district school until sixteen years old. Afterward he attended
the Norwich University Military School, graduating in 1886. He then read
law in a lawyer's office for two years and on August 10, 1888, went to Ellen-
dale, North Dakota, and read law under Fred S. Parker, now municipal
juilge of Superior, Wisconsin. After remaining a few months, he was
admitted to the bar in December, 1888. He remained in the employ of Mr.
Parker for two years and then went into business for himself, conducting an
abstract, loan and law business for about fifteen years at EUendale. \\'hile
living at EUendale, he was elected county judge and served a term of two
years. He also served as justice of the peace.
On December 20, 1903, Mr. Randall came to Little Falls, Minnesota,
where he opened a real estate office. Having studied engineering in Ver-
mont, about one year after coming to Little Falls, in 1905, he was elected
city engineer and, with the exception of two years, has held this position
ever since. He has also served as county surveyor and is now a justice of
the peace.
On September i, 1890, Phil .S. Randall was married to Nora Delahunt,
a native of Russell township, Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, born at Elkhart
Lake, January 9, 1868, the daughter of James and Bridget (Flynn) Dela-
hunt. James Delahunt was born in County Ti])perary. Ireland, and his wife
in County Meath, Ireland. After coming' to the United States, James Dela-
hunt settled at LeRoy, New York, where he and his wife met and were
married. She had come to America with her parents. James Delahunt was
a brick mason in New York state. Later he moved to Wisconsin and pur-
chased one hundred and sixty acres of land near Elkhart for one dollar and
twenty-live cents an acre. Later he bought and inherited considerable land.
He .spent his last days in Little Falls, passing away at the age of eighty-five
years, in 1907. His wife, who lived to be seventy-seven years old, passed
awav in 1910. .She was the mother of twelve children, two of whom died in
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 495
infancy. John, another child, is also deceased. The living children are
Mary Ann, Catherine, Walter, Bridget, Margaret, Nora, James, Celia and
Edward Patrick. Mrs. Randall received her education near Elkhart, Wis-
consin. After completing her education in the common schools, she taught
school at Wisconsin for three years and then went to North Dakota and
taught one year at Blanchard. Later she taught school for three years at
Ellendale.
To Mr. and Mrs. Randall have been born eight children, of whom one,
Charles Edward, the second born, is deceased. The living children are
Ramona G., Phyllis A., Zella Marie. Walter V., Bernardine N., Francis J.
and Robert Anthony. Ramona is a graduate of an instrumental music
course.' Phyllis is a graduate of a vocal musical course. Marie is a graduate
of a normal school and a licensed teacher. The three latter named are all
graduates of the Little Falls high school, and Marie is a graduate of the nor-
mal department of the Little Falls high school.
The Randall family are all well known in Little Falls and popular
socially in the city.
ANDREW J. FENN.
Andrew J. Fenn, a well-known citizen of Little Falls, Morrison county,
Minnesota, now serving as district engineer for the Minnesota highway com-
mission, is a native of Johnson county, Kentucky, where he was born on
July 15, 1862.
Educated in the state of Kentucky and in Minnesota, Andrew J. Fenn
studied engineering under Thomas T. Lange. of Minnesota, spending eight
years in his employ. When fifteen years old, he came to this state and settled
at Minneapolis. After leaving Mr. Lange's employment, he worked for the
Soo railroad and was employed later by the Wisconsin Central railroad and
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad. In 1893 Mr. Fenn moved to
Little Falls, Morrison county, Minnesota, and engaged in the land business
for two years. He was then employed by John Virtin for two years in the
same business and was finally elected city engineer of Little Falls on the
Democratic ticket. Mr. Fenn held this ofiice for six years, until 1900, when
he was elected surveyor of Morrison county. He held this office for ten
years, until 19 10. when he resigned to accept a position as district engineer
for the state highway commission. Since 1910 Mr. Fenn has been contin-
496 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
uously employed as a district engineer for the state highway commission and
during all this period has been located at Little Falls.
In 1905 Andrew J. Fenn was married to Julia Scanlan, a native of
Rockford, Illinois, who immigrated with her parents to St. Paul, Minnesota.
Mr. Fenn is a stanch Democrat and is a member of the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks, the Improved Order of Red Men and the Fraternal
Order of Eagles. He is a member of the Minnesota Surveyors and Engi-
neers Societv.
JOHN H. DOCKEN.
Among the influential citizens of Morrison county, Minnesota, the
record of whose lives has become an essential part of the history of this
section of the state, John H. Docken, a retired farmer of Little Falls, is
prominent. For many years, he has exerted a wholesome influence on the
life of the community where he has lived. His chief characteristics are a
keen perception, a tireless energ}-, honesty of pui'pose and motive and every-
day common sense. These qualities have enabled him. not only to advance
his own interests, but to contribute to the moral and material advancement
of Morrison county. He is a veteran of the Civil War, and a man
thoroughly in love with the country of his adoption.
Born near Countsberg, Norway, March 15, 1842. Jolui H. Docken is
the son of Halver J. and Mary Docken, the fomier of whom was born near
Countsberg, Norway, in 1814. There he lived until he and his family came
to .America. While living in Norway, Halver J. Docken worked in a silver
mine and farmed. Upon reaching New York, he was taken sick but lived
until the family reached Stoughton, Wisconsin, where he died at the age
of thirty-five years. Mrs. Marj' Docken was also bom in Norway and
came to this country with her husband and family. After the death of her
husband, she married Brant Thom]xson. By her first marriage, there were
three children, one of whom died on reaching Wisconsin. John was the
second child and Sophia is the wife of Jesse A. Johnson. By her second
marriage, there were two children, John and William Thompson.
Onlv seven years old when the Docken family arrived in Wisconsin,
John Docken was educated in tlie district sclionl at Stoughtun and also in
the public schools of Goodyear county. Minnesota, where his ste])- father
moved, .\fter his education was completed he assisted his step-father on
the farm until he was about twenty years old.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 497
On February ii, 1862, Mr. Docken enlisted in Company H, First
Regiment, Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel Sullie, who was
succeeded by Colonel Gorman. The First Minnesota regiment was attached
to the Army of the Potomac and Mr. Docken participated in many severe
engagements, among which were the battles of Williamsburg, Fair Oak,
Seven PinesI, Oak Grove, Gaines Mills, Savage Station, Peach Orchard,
Allen Farm, White Oak Swamp, Glendale, Malvern Hill, second battle of
Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. At
Gettysburg, he was severely wounded by a shot in the left arm. This
wound was received during the first great charge of the Minnesota regiment.
When the famous "Pickett's charge" was made he was wounded seriously
in the left side and was sent to Chestnut Hill hospital, at Philadelphia,
where he remained for ten months. Because of his weakened condition,
he was detailed to hospital service on May 5, 1864. He was discharged on
February 24, 1865, at Washington, D. C. After the war, Mr. Docken's
condition was such that he could not work and he has not entirely recovered
to this day.
In 1867 John H. Docken was married to Anna Johnson, who was born
at Schien, Norway, in 1843, and who came to Minnesota, settling in Good-
year county with her mother, her father having died in Norway. She is
the daughter of Johnson and Anna (Harver) Johnson, the latter of whom
stayed with a sister in this state until her death. She was the mother of
eight children, Mary, Johnson, Holmwood, Ora, Chester, Ike, Carrie and
Anna. Mr. and Mrs. Jolin H. Docken have been the parents of five chil-
dren, Anna Marie; Hanna, the wife of Henry Payne; Helena, the wife of
Edward Hirt; Harry Joseph and George J.
After Mr. Docken's marriage he purchased eighty acres of land in
Goodyear county and farmed for three years. He then sold out and moved
to Lvon county, Minnesota, looking for land and stayed there one year, but
did not buy. In the spring of 1872, Mr. Docken came to Morrison county,
homesteading one hundred and sixty acres of land in Buckman township.
It was wild but Mr. Docken broke and cultivated it. Within a few years
after coming to Morrison county, he purchased one hundred and twenty
acres adjoining his homestead, which was also wild land and most of which
has been put under cultivation. A little later he bought fifty-five acres in
Morrill township, east of Buckman, which was also unbroken land. At the
present time, Mr. Docken is farming about two hundred and eighty acres,
his two sons conducting the farm.
(32)
498 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
In 1900 Mr. and Mrs. John H. Docken moved to St. Cloud, expecting
to retire. After building a home Mr. Docken found that he could not
remain, so he returned to Buckman and remained on the farm for four
years. In the fall of 1904 he turned the farm over to his two sons and pur-
chased a home at 213 First Street, Northeast, Little Falls. Here Mr. and
Mrs. Docken now make their home.
The Docken family are members of the Lutheran church. Mr. Docken
votes the Republican ticket and was chairman of the board of supervisors
of Buckman township, when living on the farm, which position he held
for twelve years. He was a member of and director of the school board
when on the farm and held this position for many years. Mr. Docken is
chaplain of the local post. Grand Army of the Republic.
CARL BOLANDER.
Few business men of Morrison county, Minnesota, are quite as well or
favorably known as Carl Bolander, a well-known real estate dealer of Little
Falls, Minnesota. None stand higher than he in the esteem and confidence
of the community where he resides and fewer have had a larger part in the
material advancement of this county. In his career as a real estate dealer,
he has purchased and sold thousands of acres of lanfl, which during the
period of his ownership has been improved.
Carl Bolander was born at Wigstad. .Sweden, on |ul\- 10, 1867, and
was educated in the schools in his native land. .Among other things he
learned the carpenter's trade. He was associated with his father in the
lumljer business and in farming until he was nineteen years old. He then
served in the Swedish army for three years. After obtaining permission
from the king of Sweden to leave the country, he immigrated to .\merica in
1 89 1. Landing in New York City, Mr. Bolander went immediately to Chi-
cago and followed the carpenter's trade a part of the time during the famous
world's fair of 1803. In jul\-, i8()3 he removed to Little I'alls and was first
engaged as a carpenter. In a short time he became associatetl with C .\.
Lindbergh, and was employed to look after Mr. Lindbergh's lands. .\t the
same time he became interested personally in the real estate business. He
bought wild I.'uhIs and converted them into iiui)roved farms and then sold
them. He sold all kinds of real estate, however, including farm land and
city projjerty. Since coming to Little h''alls, Mr. Bolander has done consid-
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 499
enable building. In the early days he erected dwellings and business blocks
which he later sold. He is now dividing his attention between Mr. Lind-
bergh's lands and his own personal real estate business. He has extensive
holdings in real estate, and this requires a considerable part of his time.
On June 21. 1905, Carl Bolander was married to Helena Newman, a
native of Detroit, Michigan, who is of German descent. Mrs. Bolander was
educated in Detroit and was a trained nurse by profession. She came to
Little Falls to pursue her profession and it was here that she met Mr. Bolan-
der. There has been one son born to this marriage, namely, Carl Magnus.
Before his marriage, Mr. Bolander took an active interest in lodge work
and was a captain of several degree staffs. He took great pride in the work
of the various degree staffs and was known as one of the best drill masters
in this section of the country. Mr. Bolander is a member of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the
Modern Woodmen of America and the Yeomen. He is a progressive Repub-
lican in politics and since coming to Little Falls has served as alderman, as
member of the board of public works and is now a member of the board of
education. Mr. and Mrs. Bolander attend the Congregational church. Mr.
Bolander owns a large touring car, which he uses not only for business but
for pleasure as well. The Bolanders are very popular in Little Falls and
vicinity.
FRANK X. BASTIEN.
It is eminently proper to determine the success of a man by his relations
to the public. W^hen a man has been honored repeatedly by election and
re-election to a responsible office it is a very strong testimony of his worth
as a citizen and his reputation in the community where he lives. Frank X.
Bastien, present register of deeds in Morrison county, has been repeatedly
honored by his fellow citizens and has worthily discharged the duties of this
responsible ofifice.
Frank X. Bastien is a native of Belle Prairie township, Morrison
county, Minnesota, where he was born on February 20, 1873. He is the son
of Feli.x and .\deline (Fournier) Bastien, the former of whom was bom at
Three Rivers, Canada, where he lived until maturity. In 1855 he came to
Morrison county, Minnesota, and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of
land in Belle Prairie township, where he made his home until his death.
After coming to Morrison county he also homesteaded one hundred and
500 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
sixty acres in Belle Prairie township. Later he bought eighty acres of school
land. At the time of his death he owned four hundred acres of land. His
wife was born in Canada. Her parents had moved first to Holyoke, Massa-
chusetts, and after remaining there for a few years settled in Morrison
county, Minnesota, where she met and married Felix Bastien. She bore her
husband thirteen children, three of whom are deceased. The names of the
surviving children, in the order of their birth, are as follow : Joseph F. ;
John B. ; Fannie, who married Samuel La Fond; Frank X., the subject of
this sketch; Addie, who married Henry Colombe; Oliver, Delima, who
married Maxim La Blanc; William H., Ferdinand and George O. The late
Felix Bastien was a stanch Democrat and served his township as supervisor
for a number of years.
Frank X. Bastien was educated in the public schools of Morrison county,
Minnesota, and after completing his education assisted his father on the
farm until he reached his majority. Subsequently, he worked in the depot
at Sauk Rapids for ten months and was then transferred to Little Falls,
where he worked in the depot until the spring of 1900. He then went to
Hope, Idaho, and worked in the round-house of the Northern Pacific rail-
way for six months, and then went to Spokane, Washington, as a fireman
for the Northern Pacific railway. After firing on the Northern Pacific for
six months, during which time his hand was crushed, he left railroad work
and returned to the farm. Tn the fall of iqoi he purchased a bowling alley
in Red Wing and operated it for one and one-half years. Afterwards he
was employed by the Northern Pacific railway at Duluth, Minnesota, and
worked in the freight office for three years. He was then transferred to the
Little Falls freight office and worked here for three years.
Mr. Bastien was appointed to fill an unexpired term as register of deeds.
He has been three times re-elected to this important office, the last time in
19 1 4, when he was chosen to fill a four-year term.
In 1901 Frank X. Bastien was married to Mary B. Kowalczky, who
was born at Winona, Minnesota, November 18, 1882, and who accompanied
her ])arents to Little Falls, Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Bastien have had four
children, Jerome B., Bessie L., Harry W. and Daniel L., all of whom are
attending school.
Mr. Bastien was a Republican, but the office he holds is a non-partisan
office, in which |)artisan jx)litics is not permitted to figure. Mr. and Mrs.
Bastien are meml)crs of the French Catholic church. Mr. Bastien is a mem-
ber of the Knights of Columbus, the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks and the Knights of the Maccabees.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 50I
LEIGH V. TANNER.
Among the prosperous industries of Little Falls, Minnesota, is the
Little Falls Milling Company, which was established in this city by the late
Alfred Tanner and of which his son, Leigh V. Tanner, who for several
years operated the business in partnership with his brother, is now the sole
proprietor.
Leigh V. Tanner as a native of Little Falls, Minnesota, where he was
bom on May 9, 1878. Mr. Tanner is the son of Alfred and Mary J. (Sim-
mons) Tanner, the former of whom was a native of New York state and
who came with his parents to Little Falls, Minnesota, about 1865. When
he had grown to manhood, he engaged in the mercantile business and also
became heavily interested in the lumber business. Later, however, he sold
out his lumber interests. In the meantime, he had become interested in
flour-mills throughout Morrison county and established a number of mills
in different parts of the county. Alfred Tanner also established the Little
Falls Milling Comjjany, a splendid flour-mill with a capacity of one hundred
barrels of wheat flour daily and of fifty barrels of rye flour daily. He
operated this mill until his retirement from active business, when it was
turned over to his son. In the meantime, having established the Tanner
Mercantile Company, he also handled government supplies for this section of
the state and, when he retired from active business, he turned this industry
over to his son, H. H. Tanner. He lived to be sixty-eight years old. dying in
October. 1912. His wife, who, before her marriage, was Mary Simmons,
was a native of the Buckeye state and is still living in Little Falls, at the age
of fifty-eight years. Of the nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Alfred
Tanner, Leigh V. is the sixth.
Leigh V. Tanner received his education in the public schools of Little
Falls and in the Little Falls high school, from which institution he was grad-
uated with the class of 1898. Being a young man of industrious habits,
which he had acquired from association with his father, he immediately went
to work after finishing his education, and for some time was employed by
the Tanner Mercantile Company. Mr. Tanner remained with this firm until
he became interested in his father's other enterprise, the Little Falls Milling
Company, in 1900. Three years later, in partnership with his brother, H. H.
Tanner, Leigh V. took over the Little Falls Milling Company and the two
brothers operated the mill until 1909, when Leigh V. succeeded to the entire
business. Since 1909 he has operated the business alone and has made a
502 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
very flattering success of it. He has built up a large local trade in wheat and
rye flour, feed and cereals in Morrison and adjoining counties, and, as a
business man and citizen, is popular with all classes of people.
On September 2, 1902, Leigh V. Tanner was married to Effie B. Green,
a native of St. Cloud, Minnesota, where she was born on November 30,
1876. To them have been born four children, Edward Keith, Raleigh
Vergne, Louis Jean and Dorothy Lee, all of whom live at home with their
parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Tanner are popular in the social life of Little Falls and
are highly respected citizens of Morrison county.
JOHN WILLL\M CROSSFIELD.
Prominent in the business and commercial life of Morrison county,
Minnesota, is John William Crossfield, a well-known real estate and insur-
ance agent of Little Falls, where he settled in 1892, eight years after coming
to America, from Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. His career is one replete
with well-defined purposes, which carried to successful issue have won for
him an influential place in the business circles of Morrison county and a high
personal standing among his fellow citizens. His life work has been one of
unceasing industry and perseverance, and by systematic and honorable
methods he has won the confidence of his business associates and fellows.
Some eight years ago, he engaged in the general insurance and real estate
business and has built u]) a lucrati\e ]xitronage in Morrison and adjoining
counties.
John William Crossfield, whose name was legall\- changed from
Johannes Willi Kreutzfeldt, to its present Anglicized form, was born in the
historic town of Ploen. in the province of Schleswig-Holstein, Germanv. on
March 28, 1861. and is the son of Johannes Ludwig and Maria Margaretha
(Reimers) Kreutzfeldt. He was baptized under the name of his parents,
but after coming to America adopted the Americanized spelling. Mr. Cross-
field's father owned a flour-mill with ten pair of stones, a farm of one hun-
dred and eighty acres, a bakery and kept six horses and about thirty cows.
In 1883 a non-insured ship, by which he was sending twelve thousand sacks
of flour each weighing two hundred and eighty pounds to England, sprang
a leak and the flour was all destroyed, the pecuniary loss amounting to more
than one hundred thousand dollars. He was forced to sell out following this
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 503
disaster and to rent a mill. The shock proved so severe that he survived it
only a short time, dying on December 4, 1883, at the age of sixty-two years.
He served as a dragoon against Denmark from 1848 to 1851, a war in which
the Danish troops won. He was grand master of the Free Masons of the
province of Schleswig-Holstein in 1873. On April 10, 1854, he was mar-
ried to Maria Margaretha Reimers, who bore him nine children, and died on
October 24, 1871. Of these nine children, three died in infancy, Emma,
Robert and Hans. Six are still living, as follow : Frau Emilie Stoltenberg,
Edmund Kreutzfeldt, Max Kreutzfeldt, and Frau Minna Ohrt, all of whom
are living in Germany; Otto Kreutzfeldt, a brother, is president and general
manager of the Thomson Bridge Company, of San Francisco, California;
and John William, the subject of this sketch.
Educated in the Gymnasium of the Empress Augusta at Ploen, John
William Crossfield, after leaving school, learned the miller's trade and after
completing the trade served in the Eighty-fiftli Infantry Regiment, in which
he was promoted to corporal. He served at various times as clerk of the
company and as assistant clerk in the battalion office. He was honorably
discharged on September 18, 1881.
Three years later Mr. Crossfield emigrated to America, arriving in New
York city on April 6, 1884, having left his native country on March i6th of
the same year. From New York city he made the trip directly to North
Dakota, where he worked on a farm near Arthur all that summer. In the
fall he went to Minneapolis and obtained work in the Crown roller mill.
Mr. Crossfield worked in the mill until August, 1885, when he was employed
in the Franconia flour-mill, at Franconia, Chicago county, Minnesota.
While living at PYanconia, Mr. Crossfield sent for his sweetheart, Emma
Horstmann, a native of Kiel, Germany, who arrived in St. Paul on April
10, 1887, on which day they were married. To this happy union there have
been born nine children, eight of whom are still living. Emma died at the
ase of seven months and ten days at Little Falls, Minnesota. The names
of the children in the order of their birth are as follow: Herman, Bruno,
Roy. Edmund, Otto, John, Louise and Charles.
In 1892 Mr. Crossfield came to Little Falls and engaged in various
work until IQ07, when he opened his present real estate and insurance office.
He owns two lots adjoining his residence, which he has converted into the
"Acme Poultry Farm,"' where he breeds fancy White Wyandottes, Rose-comb
Rhode Island Reds and Single-comb White Leghorns. He succeeded in
winning first prize on the stock of the "Acme Poultry Farm" at the St. Paul,
Minneapolis, St. Cloud, Fargo and Grand Forks poultry shows.
504 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Mr. Crossfield speaks fluently the Scandinavian, German and English
languages. He has served as clerk of the local lodge of the Modern Wood-
men of America since 1908, and in 1908 and 1914 was a national delegate
of this organization. He is identified with the Socialist party and has been
his party's candidate twice for representative, once for mayor and twice for
assessor. In every instance Mr. Crossfield has been defeated, but he claims
that he has achieved a victory on principles in spite of his defeat. The Cross-i
field family are all members of the Presbyterian church.
JOSEPH GILLISPIE MILLSPAUGH, M. D. '
The career of Dr. Joseph Gillispie Millspaugh, a distinguished physician
and public-spirited man of affairs in Morrison county, presents a striking
example of well-defined purpose with the ability to make that purpose sub-
serve not only his own interests but the welfare of his fellowmen. He has
built up a preeminent reputation as a physician and surgeon in the North-
west, and has served in many positions of trust and responsibility. Durmg
his practice in the state of North Dakota, he served as the first superintendent
of the North Dakota board of health and also as president of the North
Dakota State Medical Association. He was one of the instigators of the
movement to obtain the passage of an act regulating medical practice in the
state of North Dakota. He is at present councilor for the State Medical
Society, second district. He is ex-president of the Upper Mississippi Med-
ical Society. He also served as secretary of the local i)ension board for about
fifteen years.
Jo.seph Gillispie Millspaugh is a native of Rattle Creek, Michigan, where
he was born on February 19, 185 1. Pie is the son of Jacob M. and Mary
Ann (Dicker) Millspaugh, the former of whom was born in 1808. Jacob
M. Millspaugh was liorn in Orange county. New York, and after liaving
engaged in farming and in the mercantile business in Orange county for forty
years, immigrated to Michigan and i)uichase(l a farm near Battle Creek,
where he resided until his death in 1859. At the time of his death he was
fifty-one years old. His wife, who before her marriage was Mary .\nn
Dicker, was also a native of Orange county. New York. She bore her hus-
band five sons, and died early in life at the age of thirty-six years. All of
her children grew to manhooil. Dr. Millspaugh's father was a member of
the Presl)yterian church and was identified with the Whig party.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 505
The second son in a family of five boys, Joseph Gillispie Millspaugh
was educated in the common schools of Battle Creek, Michigan, and in the
Battle Creek high school. He was also graduated from Hope College, at
Holland, Michigan, in 1874, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts and
afterwards attended the medical department of the University of Michigan
at Ann Arbor, graduating from the last-named institution in 1876. Subse-
quently, he took a course in medicine and surgery in Columbia University,
New York City, and was graduated from Columbia in 1877.
After passing his medical examination, he began the practice of medi-
cine and surgery at Battle Creek, and remained there for six years. In
1879 he was married, and subsequently, on account of his health, abandoned
his practice at Battle Creek and removed to Park River, North Dakota, where
he practiced for eight years. While in North Dakota he became prominent
in the medical profession. From North Dakota he removed to Superior
City, Wisconsin, and remained there one year. Climatic conditions being
unfavorable, in the care of one of his children, in 1892 he removed perma-
nently to Little Falls and began the practice of medicine in Morrison county.
Joseph Gillispie Millspaugh was married in 1879 at Battle Creek, Mich-
igan, to Anna M. Zang, a native of Battle Creek, who was born in May,
1855, and who is a graduate of the Battle Creek high school. Doctor and
Mrs. Millspaugh have had three children : Florence is the wife of Arthur M.
Ida; Mark G. is unmarried; Lula B. died early in life.
No physician in Morrison county is better known than Doctor Mills-
paugh and no one is more highly respected either within or without the
profession than the subject of this sketch. He is possessed of a native
aptitude for medicine and surgery aside from his exceptional professional
knowledge. He has always enjoyed a large practice in this county.
E. P. ADAMS.
Farmer, school teacher and lawyer — such, in brief, is the summary of
the career of E. P. Adams, a well-known lawyer of Morrison county, Minne-
sota, who forty years ago received the degree of Bachelor of Science from
Illinois Wesleyan University, at Bloomington, and three years later the
degree of Bachelor of Laws. The president of Illinois Wesleyan University
for many years was Dr. W. H. H. Adams, one of the leading Methodist
ministers of the state.
506 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
E. P. Adams is a native of Illinois, having been born on July 28, 1851,
near Mattoon. He is the son of C. B. and Sarah (Gannaway) Adams, the
former of whom was born at Xenia, Ohio, in May, 181 1, and the latter was
born in Kentucky in 182 1. C. B. Adams was educated in the district schools
of the Buckeye state and farmed there until 1836, when he removed to
Effingham county, Illinois, where he entered a tract of government land.
After living there for a few years he removed to Coles county, Illinois, near
Mattoon, and lived there until 1865, when he removed to Macon county
Illinois, eight miles east of Decatur. There he remained until 1880, when he
passed away, at the age of sixty-nine years. By occupation he was a farmer.
In Effingham county, Illinois, he had met Sarah Gannaway, whom he later
married. She bore him six children, of whom two died early in life. The
others were William H. H., for many years the president of Illinois Wes-
leyan University; Emmarine E., who married James A. Wilson; Eliza A.,
who married Thomas J. Kizer; and E. P., the subject of this sketch. The
mother of these children died in 1854, at the age of thirty-three years.
After attending the country schools of Illinois, E. P. Adams spent his
freshman year in college at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, and
entered Illinois Wesleyan University, from which he was graduated in 1875
with the degree of Bachelor of Science. In 1878 he received the degree of
Bachelor of Laws from the Law Department of the same University. After-
wards he taught school in Oakland, Illinois, and for a number of years was
])rinci])al of the Oakland schools. He also taught in other nearby towns.
In 1882 Mr. Adams removed to Miller, Hand county. South Dakota, and
homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land, .\fter four years, on
January 1. 1887, he opened a law office in Minnea])olis, but remained in
Minneapolis only a few months, when he .settled permanently in Little I-'alls
and engaged in the practice of his profession.
In i8yo Mr. Adams was in partnership with C. .\. Lindbergh. This
arrangement continued for two years, after which, until IQ05. he practiced
alone. In July, 1905. he removed to Britton. .Soiuh Dakota, and remained
there for ten months in partnership with J. J. Barrett in the practice of law,
after which he returned to Little Falls.
Mr. .\dams is interested in Morrison county real estate and has other
substantial property interests.
On August 25. 1880, E. P. .\dams w;is married to E.mma .\. i'voss, a
native of Grundy county. Illinois. I'y their marriage there has been born
one son. Marc Ross Adams, who is cashier of the I'irst State Bank at Big
Falls, Minnesota.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 507
Mr. and Mrs. E. P. Adams are members of the Methodist church.
Mr. Adams is a member of the United Workmen and Modern Brotherhood
of America. He is an ardent Repubhcan and has served two terms as city
attorney of Little Falls and is an official examiner of titles for Morrison
county, appointed by the judges of the district court.
DURA CORBIN.
Th^ union soldier during the great Civil War builded wiser than he knew.
Through four years of sufi'ering and hardship, through the horrors of prison
pens and through the shadows of death, he laid the foundation for the
greatest structure ever erected and dedicated to human freedom. The world
looks on and calls those soldiers sublime, for it was theirs to reach out the
mighty arm of power and strike the chains from off the slaves, to preserve
the country from dissolution and to keep unfurled the country's flag. For
all the unmeasured deeds the living present will never repay them. To the
children of generations yet unborn it remains to accord the full measure of
appreciation for the immortal character of the American soldier who suffered
and bled during the dark days of the sixties. Numbered among these valiant
soldiers is the venerable Dura Corbin, the former postmaster of Little Falls
and farmer of Morrison county, who is now living retired.
Dura Corbin is a native of Chautauqua county. New York, where he
was born on August 9, 1842. He is the son of Isaac and Harriett (Med-
berry) Corbin, who were natives of New York state. Isaac Corbin was a
carpenter during most of his life. In 1846 he removed to what was then
the territory of Wisconsin, driving overland with a team. He purchased
fifty-five acres, mostly wild land, in 1847, and built a log house on the land.
The shingles were made on the farm and were of oak. Men were employed
to clear and cultivate the land while he worked at his trade. After living
on the farm for seven years, he sold out and removed to North Prairie, Wis-
consin, purchasing one hundred and fifty acres where he lived for three
years. He then sold out and removed to Ohio, where he purchased fifty
acres of land. After two years near Oberlin, he again sold out and removed
to W^inona county. Minnesota, driving from Ohio to Winona county with
his personal effects. The trip required about two weeks. He purchased
one hundred and seventy acres of land in Winona county and built a frame
house, clearing and farming the tract until 1863, when he again sold out and
5o8 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
removed to La Crosse count)^ Wisconsin. There he bought eighty acres of
land, which he improved and farmed until 1865. Even in his later years, he
moved from place to place. During the last few years of his life, he lived
retired at Little Falls with his daughter, Mrs. J. C. Burrall. He died in
Little Falls at the age of eighty-eight years, in 1903. His wife died at the
age of seventy-eight years on April 17, 1895. She bore her husband five
children, namely : Dura, the subject of this sketch ; Jane married L. G. Gates,
of Winona county, Minnesota, and died on March 24, 1915: Julia is the wife
of J. C. Burrall, a well-known carpenter of Little Falls; Annette died at the
age of eleven years; Manning died in Little I'alls several years ago.
Educated in the state of Wisconsin and at Oberlin, Ohio, Dura Corbin
lived with his parents until August 31, 1864, when he enlisted in Company L
Eighth Regiment, Wisconsin \'olunteer Infantry, at La Crosse, Wisconsin.
He participated in the battle of Nashville and in the siege of Spanish Fort in
Alabama, and was mustered out of the service on August 31, 1865.
After the war, Mr. Corbin settled at St. Charles, Minnesota, where he
worked in the mercantile store owned by Hyde & Broughton. After a few
months he returned to Wisconsin and spent the next winter there. He then
removed to Minneapolis, where he worked as a carpenter. .Vfter living in
Minneapolis and at White Water, Wisconsin, for several years. In 1871
Mr. Corbin removed to Morrison county, Minnesota, homesteading one hun-
dred and sixty acres in section 14, of Swan River township. The tract of
land was covered with wild timlier and meadow at the time, but Mr. Corbin
cleared a spot and built a log house, into which he moved in December, 1871.
The next .spring he was able to plant a small crop of potatoes and corn.
After living in Swan River township until 1897, having in tlie meantime
cleared considerable of the land and erected a comfortable house and barn,
he was appointed postmaster of Little Falls and after renting the farm
removed to town. Mr. Corbin served a little more than four years as post-
master, and after the expiration of his term of office engaged in the farm
machinery business for one year. For some time he speculated in Dakota
land, but has disposed of his holdings in that state. In 1902 Mr. Corbin sold
his homestead. He now owns two hundred and eighty-four acres in Clough
township, Morrison county, and of this farm eighty acres are under cultiva-
tion. The rest is wild land. Mr. CorI)in is now living retired in Little
1-^alls.
On March 15, 1867. Dura Corbin was married, at Minneapolis, Minne-
sota, to Minnie R. Burrall, who was born in New York state on September
8, 1844, and who removed with her parents to the state of Wisconsin in
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 509
1849. She made her home with her parents until her marriage. In the
meantime she taught school in Minnesota for several terms, her parents hav-
ing moved to Minnesota.
Mrs. Corbin has borne her husband two children, of whom Floy mar-
ried Homer W. Hilborn, now living at Portal, North Dakota. Max, the
second child, married Alta Bowman, and is a jewelry merchant of Little
Falls, Minnesota.
Mr. Corbin is an enthusiastic and stanch Republican. He served twelve
years as clerk of Swan River township and was a member of the Morrison
county board of commissioners for three years. He has also held various
school offices. He is a member of Workman Post No. 31, Grand Army of
the Republic, and is at present the adjutant of the post. In 1906 Mr. Corbin
served as junior vice-department commander of Minnesota.
THOMAS C. GORDON.
The biographer takes pleasure in herewith presenting a few facts in the
life of Thomas C. Gordon, one of the most enterprising citizens of Little
Falls, Morrison county, Minnesota.
Thomas C. Gordon is a native of Wales, born in the southern portion
of that country on March 16, 1866, son of James and Margaret Elizabeth
(McKean) Gordon. The mother was a native of Kirkcudbright, Scotland,
while the father was born in Dumfries. James Gordon had been educated
as a civil engineer, but he devoted the active years of his life almost entirely
to agricultural work and passed his entire life in various parts of the United
Kingdom. He made a study of agriculture and stock raising and was known
as one of the most advanced agriculturists of his country. He imported from
America the first harvesting machine which entered Ireland. This was a
Deering and was a great wonder in those days. He also took into Ireland
the first herd of Scotch sheep and demonstrated that they were better adapted
to conditions of the Emerald Isle than those native to it. James Gordon
was throughout his life a faithful member of the Presbyterian church and
was a man of strong individuality and marked ability.
Thomas C. Gordon is the fifth child in a family of nine children and
received his elementary education at a private school in Wales. He came
to this country when twenty-one years of age, landing at New York city and
coming direct to Minnesota. At Saint Paul he took up work with the Little
5IO MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Falls Water Power Company. However, he remained in that city but a
month, when he was transferred to Little Falls. That was in 1887 and he
has since made Little Falls his home, being prominently identified with the
life of that place. For about two years after forming his connection with
the company in question he was assistant to the engineer and also kept the
books of the company, and in icSSo he was made secretary-treasurer. He
fills that position still with the addition ni the duties of general manager,
cunf erred on him in 1903.
In addition to his duties with the Little Falls W'ater Power Company,
Mr. Gordon has found time for taking an interest in several other business
ventures. In the fall of 1888 he organized and assumed the management
of the Gordon Lumber Company at Little b'alls, which firm did a retail lum-
ber business and Mr. Gordon continued at its head for three years, when he
disposed of his interest. In 1890 he formed a corporation known as the
Peoples Ice Company, and he remained with that company for twelve years,
when he sold his interest. In the same year (1890) he organized the Little
Falls Building and Loan Association and was made its secretary and treasurer.
He continued in that connection as an officer for about three years. .Mr.
Gordon was also secretary of the Little Falls Milling Company, from 1890
to 1894, and was secretary of the Little Falls Electric and Water Company,
now inactive. He was also instrumental in fornnng the Morrison County
Electric Light, Heat and Power Company, now out of existence, and was its
secretary-treasurer. He also fills the same office for the Pike Rapids Hydro-
Electric Company, which owns and controls an excellent power site, which,
however, has never been developed. Mr. Gordon through his unusual ability
has contributed very largely to the commercial life of his cho.sen city and this
community is much indebted to him for its advancement along many lines.
Thomas C. Gordon was married on May 17, 1889, to Mary A. Stilwell,
born in Little Falls on May 19, 1864, and to their union have been born
four children. Warren, the eldest, married Georgia St. Martin; Harkcr,
Ik-rtha :md Mercy are still at home witii the parents. Mr. Gordon and his
family are held in high esteem by their many friends ami move in the best
social circles of their city.
Mr. Gordon has for many years liccn a devout member of the Episcopal
chtirch and advances its interests whenever possible. Politically, he is a
Republican and has served his party as alderman of Little Falls for two
years. For the past fourteen years he has been a merrtber of the board
of education of this city and in 1915 was again elected for a three-year
term. l"or the past eight years, he has served that body as its president.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 51I
While not directly interested in agriculture, :\Ir. Gordon has the best interests
of the farming element at heart and is an earnest advocate of twentieth-cen-
tury methods in that vocation, and as an evidence of his sympathy with those
SO engaged, he fills the office of president of the Agricultural Society of
Morrison county. Mr. Gordon holds fraternal affiliation with the time-hon-
ored body of Freemasonry, the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks, Knights of the Maccabees, and the Modern Wood-
men, of America, in the workings of all of which he evinces more than a
passive interest. ]\Ir. Gordon is a good representative of a virile type of
manhood — the men who do things, and these men become the natural lead-
ers in any community where their lot may be cast. Mr. Gordon possesses
keen foresight, good judgment and his honor and integrity are above
reproach. He is one of the worthy citizens of Little Falls who are always
an.xious to acquire for their cit\' all possible advantages possessed by any
other, and as a man of many excellent parts he is held in high esteem by all.
OTIS J. BROWN, M. D.
The state of Minnesota has every reason to be proud of the personnel
of her physicians, and among the celebrated ]5hysicians of Morrison county is
Dr. Otis J. Brown, who, after ])racticing medicine in various places, settled
in Little Falls in 1904 and has enjoyed a large and lucrative practice ever
since coming to Morrison county.
Otis J. Brown is a native of Dayton, Ohio, where he was born on April
13, 1856. He is the son of John V. and Fmaline Brown, both of whom
were born in New York state, the former in 1833. The late John V. Brown
was a master mechanic and worked at his trade during his entire life. He
lived to be seventy-seven years old, passing away some fifteen years ago.
Otis J. Brown is one of five children born to his parents and he was the third
in the family.
Educated in the common schools of the city of Cleveland, Otis J. Brown
subsequently entered the medical department of Western Reserve University,
at Cleveland, and was graduated from the Medical College in 1882. After
practicing medicine in Cleveland for seven years, he immigrated to Minne-
sota, in 1889, and settled in Red Wing, where he practiced for fourteen years.
After that he removed to St. Cloud, Minnesota, and practiced medicine there
until 1904, when he settled permanently in Little Falls.
512 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Otis J. Brown was married in 1901 to Tracy Pohl, who was born near
Red Wing, Minnesota, in 1870. Doctor and Mrs. Brown have no children.
A stanch RepubHcan in politics. Dr. Otis J. Brown served two terms
as coroner of Goodhue county, while living at Red Wing. He also has
served one term as coroner of Morrison county. Doctor and Mrs. Brown
are members of the Methodist church. Dr. Brown is a member of the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
WILLIAM PEDLEY.
To write the personal record of men who have raised themselves from
humble circumstances to a position of responsibility and trust in a com-
munity as well as to positions of affluence, is no ordinary pleasure. Self-
made men, men who have achieved success by reason of their personal qual-
ities, who have left the impress of their individuality upon the business of
the community where they live, unwittingly perhaps have built monuments
more enduring than marble or granite shafts. Of such, we have a right to
say is the venerable William Pedley. a native of England and a retired
farmer of Morrison county, Minnesota.
Mr. Pedley was bom at St. Ives, England, six miles from London,
January 4, 1835, the son of James Pedley, who was a shepherd by occupa-
tion, who was bom near London and who spent his entire life near the
capital of the P>ritisli Fjiipire. passing away at his home at the age of sixty-
live years.
William Pedley came to the United States when about sixteen years
old, and after landing in New York City moved on to Cleveland. Ohio, where
he remained for four years engaged in teaming and in other odd jobs.
In 1855, at the age of twenty years, William Pedley was married to
Elizabeth Ragan, of Cleveland, who was lx)rn on May 5, 1836, in England,
and who was brought to /\merica b}' her brother when a small girl. She
also migrated to Cleveland after arriving in this country and worked out
until her marriage.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Pedley came to Minnesota, where
he worked in a saw-mill. Later he operated a freight wagon from St.
Paul to Little Falls. By careful saving he was able to accumulate enough
money to pay for two hundred acres of land, which he purchased from
the government for one dollar and twenty-live cents an acre. This land
WILLIAM PEDLEY
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 513
joins the present corporation limits of Little Falls, Minnesota. This land
he cleared and fanned and later added two hundred acres, situated a few
miles east of the original farm.
Mrs. Elizabeth (Ragan) Pedley lived to be seventy -eight years old,
passing away at her home on September 22, 1914. She was a devout mem-
ber of the Congregational church, and when she came to Little Falls she was
one of three women who lived here at that time. She was a good mother
and a loving wife, rearing a family of children, who are leading honorable
and useful lives and who keenly feel their deep loss in her death. Mr. and
Mrs. Pedley were the parents of ten children, of whom four, Lydia, Mary
Ann, Emma Jane and Charles Walter, are deceased. The living children
are, William, who is unmarried; Elizabeth, who married James Steele, an
Indian trader of Little Falls, also a freighter and merchant; Minnie May,
who married John Tucker, a merchant of Fort Ripley, Minnesota; John
Franklin is a farmer near Little Falls; James Irving, who married Emma
Vardarski, is a farmer near Little Falls, and Ella Phoebe, who married
Claude A. Tucker, the station agent at Belle Prairie. William, the eldest
son, lives at home with his father and helps to manage the home farm.
Mr. Pedley is a general farmer and stockman, as well as a dairyman.
He is a man who is highly respected in Little Falls and vicinity, a man of
consideraljle prominence in this section of Morrison county. William Ped-
ley is the architect of his own fortune, a self-made man, one who knows
what it is to struggle for the snug fortune which he has accumulated.
LESLIE MUNCY.
Specific mention is made in this volume of many worthy farmers of
Morrison county, citizens who have figured in the growth and agricultural
development of the county, and whose interests are identified with almost
every phase of its progress. Each has contributed in his special sphere to
the well-being of the community. Among this number is Leslie Muncy, a
native of the county and a well-known farmer of Bellevue township.
Leslie Muncy was born in Bellevue township, Morrison county, Minne-
sota, on July 15, 1874. He is the son of James and Charlotte (McCollum)
Muncy, the former of whom was born at New Brunswick, Maine, in 1834.
After being educated in Maine, James Muncy, when a young man, moved to
(33)
514 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Minneapolis, where he remained a short time. He then took the train to
St. Cloud and came overland by wagon to Morrison county, where he pur-
chased one hundred and sixty acres of land. The tract was located in sec-
tion 23 of Bellevue township and cost twelve hundred dollars, buildings and
all. It was in 1865 when very few people lived in Morrison county, the
population being made up mostly of Indians. Some years later, he added
one hundred and sixty acres of land one mile east of Royalton, in Bellevue
township, and still later forty acres on the Platte river, north of Royalton
one mile. He built a dam on the Platte river in order to hold the water for
log driving. He also bought forty acres of land north of Royalton on the
Platte river. At the time of his death, he was heavily interested in the
lumber business on the Platte river. Practically all of his life was spent in
lumbering and farming.
Mrs. Charlotte (McCullomj Muncy was born in 1839, in Xew Bruns-
wick, Maine, and was there educated and married. She bore her husband
eleven children, of whom one died in infancy. Elizabeth married Wallace
Russell ; Amelia married Frank Rice ; Samuel married Lizzie McFarlin ; Belle
married William Rice; Sarah married Andrew Long; Clara married John
Kenedy; Leslie is the subject of this sketch; Rose married William McNeal;
Harvey married Anna Wischnewski ; Myrtle married Joe Newman. The
mother of these children is still living. James Muncy died on February 17,
1900, at the age of sixty-six years. He was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church and helped to establish the church at Royalton. ^Ir. Muncy
voted the Democratic ticket.
Leslie Muncy was educated in the district schools of Bellevue township.
He lived at home until the death of his father in 1900. For eight winters
he worked in the woods of northern Minnesota but in the summer assisted
in the work on the farm. At the death of his father, he purchased the inter-
ests of the other heirs in eighty-three acres of land which his father had
owned, and added eighty acres by another purchase. The last tract was all
meadow land. In 1900 Mr. Muncy bought forty acres north of the old
homestead, and in the following year purchased one hundred and forty-six
acres adjoining the second tract in sections 16 and 17. Mr. Muncy now
owns four hundred and sixty-nine acres altogether. He is engaged in gen-
eral farming and stockraising and keejis several milk cows. Mr. Muncy is
now engaged in building a new home on the two-hundred-acre farm in sec-
tion 17. His land is all well improved. He is also a stockholder in the
F'armers Co-Operative Creamery, of Royalton.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 515
On March i8, 1903, Leslie Muncy was married to Gertrude Downs, a
native of Kansas, who came to Morrison county, Minnesota, when a small
girl with her parents. Mrs. Muncy was educated at Royalton and lived
at home with her parents until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Muncy are the
parents of three children, Vera, Charlotte, and Ellis. The two eldest chil-
dren are attending school.
Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Muncy are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church. Mr. Muncy votes the Republican ticket and is a member of the
Knights of the Maccabees.
BARTLETT YANCY McNAIRY.
In the history of Morrison county, Minnesota, Bartlett Yancy McNairy,
who is serving his second term as auditor of the county, occupies a most
conspicuous place. He is possessed of an aggressive and enterprising spirit
and these qualities have won for him a wide measure of success not only in
political favor and preferment but in the estimation of his fellow citizens
with whom he is extremely popular.
Bartlett Yancy McNairy is a native of Aberdeen, Monroe county, Missis-
sippi, where he was born on November 2, 1855. He is the son of John C.
and Martha E. (Brandon) McNairy. John C. McNairy was born in 1825,
in North Carolina, and moved to Aberdeen, Mississippi, in early life. There
he owned a large plantation and was engaged in farming. In 1867 he
removed to Lake City, Minnesota, and retired from active life, dying four
years later, in 1871, at the age of forty-six years. He was a prominent
Mason, and was a Democrat in politics. Mrs. Martha E. (Brandon) McNairy
was born at Huntsville, Alabama, in 1830, and died at the age of twenty-
eight years, in 1858. She bore her husband three children, two of whom
died in infancy. Bartlett Yancy McNairy was the only child who grew
to maturity.
When twelve years old, Mr. McNairy accompanied his parents to Lake
City, Minnesota, where he attended the common schools and the high school.
He also attended Schattuck College, at Faribault, and afterward the normal
school at Winona, Minnesota. Mr. McNairy next learned the printing busi-
ness in the plant owned by H. D. Brown and after six years returned to
Aberdeen, Mississippi, and was there engaged as a planter for several years.
Subsequently, however, he returned to Lake City, Minnesota, and in 1879
was married to Lou E. Doughty, who was bom at Lake City, Minnesota, on
5l6 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
February 14, i860, and who is the daughter of Asa B. Doughty. Mrs.
McNairy has borne her husband five children ; one child died in infancy. The
living children are as follow : Harry D., Bartlett Y., Jr., Alice L., who
married H. T. Peterson; and Louis P.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. McNairj' removed to Campbell,
Minnesota, and there he engaged in the mercantile business and served as
postmaster for many years. On May 31, 1891, Mr. and Mrs. McNairy and
family removed to Little Falls, purchasing an interest in a fancy grocery and
confectionery store. After two years the store burned and Mr. McNairy
then went to Butte, Montana, where he clerked in a mercantile establishment
for one year. Upon coming back to Little Falls he was appointed deputy
auditor and served eight years. In 1910 he made his first race for auditor
of Morrison coimty and was elected. Four years later, in 1914, Mr. McNairy
was elected to a second term. No better e\'idence of his efficiency in public
service and his ability to the office to which he was elected in 19 10 can \x
cited than his re-ekction to this same office four years later.
Mr. McNairy is a Democrat in politics. He is a member of the blue
\odgt and the chapter of the Masonic fraternity; the Ancient Order of United
Workmen ; and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Mr. and
Mrs. McNairy and family are members of the Episcopal church.
ARCHIBALD HERRICK VERNON.
Among the well-known lawyers of Morrison county. Minnesota, is
Archibald Herrick Vernon, whose father, a graduate from the University
of Wisconsin, was a practicing attorney at St. Paul until his retirement in
1910.
Archibald Herrick Vernon is a native of Middletown, Dane county,
Wisconsin, born on April 8. 1880. His father, George H. Vernon, was
also a native of Dane county, Wisconsin, born there on a farm in 1854.
He was educated in the public schools of Dane county and later graduated
from the law department of the University of Wisconsin, at Madison.
l'>om 1886 until 19 10 he was actively engaged in the practice of law at
St: I'aul, Minnesota. Mr. Vernon's mother was Clara ( Herrick) Vernon,
also a native of Dane county, Wisconsin, who was born in 1859. Archibald
I Icrrick is the eldest of four children: Mabel C. is the wife of Eugene Love-
joy; Blanche is the wife of John C. Emeny; Stanley \\'. is the youngest.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 517
Archibald Herrick Vernon received his elementary and secondary
training in the public schools of St. Paul, Minnesota, and in the Central
high school of St. Paul. After finishing high school, he was for some
time a student at Harvard University, at Cambridge. He received the
degree of Bachelor of Laws from the St. Paul College of Law, and later
received the degree of Master of Laws from the law department of the
University of Minnesota, at Minneapolis. After leaving Harvard, Mr.
Vernon was for eight years engaged in newspaper work. He finished his
career in journalism as city editor of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Upon leaving newspaper work, Mr. Vernon opened a law office in St.
Paul and practiced for two years. In 1909 he removed to Little Falls and
has since practiced his profession in this city.
Archibald H. Vernon was married on March 29, 1910, to Clara Sim-
mons, a native of Appleton, Minnesota, who was born on March 9, 1885,
and who was educated in the St. Paul Central high school and at St. Mary's
school at Faribault, Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Vernon have no children.
Archibald Herrick Vernon is a Republican in politics and was chief
clerk of the House of Representatives of the Minnesota Legislature during
the session of 1909. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks and is a past exalted ruler. He also belongs to the Knights
of the Maccabees and Roval Arcanum.
CHARLES BOTTEMILLER.
Among the successful, business men of Bertha, Todd coun^^, Minne-
sota, is Charles Bottemiller, who, besides a general mercantile store at Bertha,
operates a saw-mill, planing-mill, flour-mill, garage and machine shop, and
who is also the local agent for the Page, Mitchell and Oakland motor cors.
Charles Bottemiller was born on January 9, 1861, in Chisago county,
Minnesota. He is the son of Henry and Mary Bottemiller, the former of
whom was a farmer in Chisago county, but who sold out there and moved
to Bertha township, Todd county, in November, 1876. He purchased three
hundred and twenty acres of land in section 17, three hundred acres in sec-
tion S, and homesteaded eighty acres in section 8. After having lived in
Bertha township until 1884, he sold out his interests in this county and
moved to California, where he purchased sixty acres of land. He lived on
the California farm for six years and then moved to Portland, Oregon.
5l8 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
where he lived until his death in 1896, at which time he was seventy-six
years old. His wife, since her husband's death, has been living with her
children. There were fourteen children in the Bottemiller family, as follow :
August, Louisa, Charles, Amelia, William, Fred, Mary, Emma, Lena, Lydia,
Henry, Edward, Emil and Augusta. Besides Charles, the subject of this
sketch, two more of these children, Louisa and Amelia, live in Bertha.
Louisa is the wife of E. J. Kohlhase, and Amelia is the wife of Adam Leyh.
Educated in the public schools of Braun county, Minnesota, and of
Bertha township, Todd county, Charles Bottemiller assisted his father on
the farm and lived at home until his marriage in December. 1885, to Sophia
Bluhm. Mr. and Mrs. Bottemiller started housekeeping on one hundred and
sixty acres of land in section 17, of Bertha township. Mr. Bottemiller owned
the farm, which consisted principally of wild timber land. He built a small
frame house and lived on the farm for about one year, when he sold out to
William Bluhm and moved to California. After remaining in California
for two years, he came back to Todd county and purchased eighty acres out
of the farm he had formerly sold to Mr. Bluhm. There he built a log
house, and a little later established a saw-mill. After having cut out all of
the good timber on the farm and sawed it into lumber, he engaged in wheat
threshing and operated the saw-mill under contract for a number of years.
He sold out, however, and moved to Bertha, also moving the saw-mill to
Bertha.
After having built a residence the next spring, Mr. Botteniilier began
the construction of a two-story building for a store. He finished the upper
story the first year and moved into it and established a small stock of
groceries in one of the upstairs rooms. During the next summer, he finished
the lower story and put in a stock of groceries. In the meantime, he had
taken Charles and L. H. Bluhm into the business as partners and later
Herman Zimmerman was also taken into the business as a partner. In a
few years, however, Mr. Bottemiller piuchascd the interest of his partners.
The first floor of the building was twenty-four by sixty feet, with living-
rooms upstairs. Later he built a one-story addition, thirtv-two b\- thirty
feet, and, a few years ago, tore down this addition and erected in its place
an addition which makes the building fifty-six by seventy-six feet, two stories
high and with a half basement, all of which is used for the mercantile store.
Mr. Bottemiller has been adding to his stock from time to time until he now
carries a complete line of general merchandise, including groceries, di'v
goods, clothing, shoes, crockery, etc. The first stock was worth not more
than seventy-five dollars, but it is now invoiced at fourteen thousand dollars.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 519
Besides the general store, Mr. Bottemiller also operates a saw-mill, a planing-
mill, a flour-mill, a garage and machine shop, and is now building a potato
warehouse, forty by ninety-two feet. Also installing an electric light plant.
The flour-mill has a capacity of seventy-five barrels daily and manufactures
"Bertha Best'" and "Our Leader," which are two popular brands of flour
in this community. Within recent years, Mr. Bottemiller has taken his two
sons, Louis and Fred, into the business as partners.
There were eight children in Mr. Bottemiller's family, Louis H., Henry
L., Fred W., Lydia, William, Walter, Esther and Edward. Louis H. is a
partner and manager of the general store. He married Clara Belle Hunt-
zicker and has three children, Lois, Bernice and Jeanne. Henry L., born
on February 20, 1888, died in November, 19 12. He was a mechanical
engineer by profession and was also studying mechanical drawing at the
time of his death. He held a license as chief engineer. At the time of
his death, he left a widow, who before her marriage was Amy Mildbrath,
and two children, Merton and Henry, Jr. Fred W., who is also a partner,
married Pearl Kelly. He is the bookkeeper for all the different lines of
business. Lydia, William, Walter, Esther and Edward live at home with
their parents.
Mr. Bottemiller is an independent voter. He has served on the school
board and as township treasurer and in other positions of trust and responsi-
bility. The Bottemiller family are all members of the German Methodist
church. Mr. Bottemiller is not identified with any secret order.
RUDOLPH LEE.
Rudolph Lee, the eldest son of William E. and Eva (Gibson) Lee, was
bom in Pillsbury, Todd county, Minnesota, January i, 1877. He was edu-
cated in the schools of Long Prairie, at the normal school at St. Cloud and
at the University of Minnesota, from which latter institution he was gradu-
ated in 1899. Upon leaving the university he became cashier of the Bank
of Long Prairie, a position he held for five years. He assisted in the
organization of the company which bought the Long Prairie Leader, and
in 1904 resigned his position with the bank to become the editor of the
Leader. He has continued as the editor of the paper since that time.
Rudolph Lee was married on May 23, 1900, to Melvene Clark of
Minneapolis, the daughter of Charles and Elva (Covell) Clark. Mrs. Lee's
520 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
father died in midle life. Her mother then moved from Michigan, where
the family had resided, to Indiana and from there to Minneapohs. Mrs.
Clark died at Long Prairie, in 1908.
Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Lee have two daughters, Helen Melvene and
Wilma Janet.
JOHN VERTIN.
Morrison county, Minnesota, has been especially favored in the char-
acter and career of her commercial leaders. In every section of the county
may be found men who have won a large measure of success partially
because of the natural resources of this great section and partially because
of their personal strength of character. Many of the successful business
men of Morrison county have come to America from other lands and among
these is John Vertin, a successful real estate dealer of Little Falls.
John Vertin was born in the southern part of Austria, November 16,
1866, and is the son of Mathias and Katherine (Maurin) Vertin, the former
of whom was born in 1837 and the latter in 1846. Both were born and
reared and married in southern Austria. Mathias Vertin is a merchant and
inn keeper and is still living at the age of seventy-eight years. His wife
died at the age of thirty years in 1876, leaving six children, of whom John
Vertin was the second child.
Mr. Vertin was educated in the common schools of Austria and, when
sixteen years old, made the voyage to America. After landing in New York
city, he went to Chicago, Illinois, and finally to Elizabeth. Otter Tail county.
Minnesota. There he attended the public schools for two years. He then
became a student at St. John's University, at Collegeville, Minnesota. He
was graduated from the commercial course. After finishing his education
he returned to Elizabeth. Minnesota, and engaged himself as a clerk in a
general mercantile store, owned by his uncle, Peter Maurin. Later he
became a bookkcc])er and remained with his uncle for seven years. Mr.
Vertin came to Little Falls in January, 1893, and took charge of a general
store for Marcus Maurin, with whom he remained for six years. In 1898
Mr. Vertin engaged in the real estate business for himself. In 1902. how-
ever, he sold out the real estate business and was api)t>intcd cashier of the
Merchant's State Bank of Little Falls. He held this position for two years
and then resigned to take up the land business again.
In November, 1894, Mr. X'ertin was married to .Agnes Krszeszewski,
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 52I
a native of Duluth, Minnesota, and the daughter of Andrew and Agnas
Krszeszewski. Mrs. Vertin's parents were both born in German Poland.
After the family had immigrated to America, they settled in Duluth. They
subsequently moved to North Prairie, in Morrison county. Upon the death
of Mrs. V'ertin's father, the family removed to Little Falls. Mr. and Mrs.
Vertin ha\'e had seven children, as follow : Marcus, Mathias, Bernerdine,
Rose. John, Margaret and Agnes.
A Democrat in politics, John Vertin served as alderman of Little Falls
for several years. He also served as treasurer of the civil corporation and
still holds this office. Mr. and Mrs. Vertin and family are members of
Sacred Heart Catholic church. Mr. Vertin is a member of the Knights of
Columbus and the Catholic Order of Foresters.
DONALD M. CAMERON.
Donald M. Cameron, one of the leading lawyers of Morrison county,
Minnesota, and the Morrison county member of the Democratic State Cen-
tral Committee of Minnesota, is a native of the Hawkeye state and was
educated for the profession of law at the University of Minnesota. Since
1901, when he located at Little Falls, he has been prominent in the political
and civic life of the county. Mr. Cameron owns farm lands in Morrison
and adjoining counties, a part of which is under cultivation. He also
owns various city properties.
Donald M. Cameron was bom on a farm near Mason City, Iowa, on
August 6, 1875, and is the son of Francis B. and Jane Elizabeth (Cameron)
Cameron, the former of whom was born near Lake Simcoe, province of
Ontario, Dominion of Canada, on July 17, 1837, and the latter was born
near Foxlake, Wisconsin, on July 4, 1845. Francis B. Cameron was edu-
cated in the public schools of the Dominion of Canada, but when a young
man removed to Foxlake, Wisconsin, where he met and married Jane Eliza-
beth Cameron. After their marriage they removed to Cerro Gordo county,
Iowa, and purchased a farm of two hundred and eighty acres, where they
farmed until 1884, when they moved to Clear Lake, Iowa. He retired in
1894 and after selling the farm they removed to Minneapolis, where he died
on August 12, 191 2, at the age of seventy-five years.
Mrs. Jane Elizabeth (Cameron) Cameron was educated at Foxlake,
Wisconsin, and by her marriage to Francis B. Cameron there were born
522 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
three children, of whom Rachel A. is deceased; Donald M. is the subject of
this sketch; and Francis A. is a farmer in Canada.
Donald M. Cameron received his education in the common schools of
Clear Lake and his secondary education in the high school of Clear Lake.
He also attended the high school at Minneapolis and afterwards the law
department of the University of Minnesota. While a student at the Uni-
versity, he also took academic work.
Upon finishing his education Mr. Cameron performed various work in
the state of Washington and in North Dakota. He managed a farm near
Lisbon, North Dakota, for a time and also ran a well-drilling outfit. On
June I, 1901, he located at Little Falls and began the practice of law. His
practice has grown from year to year until he now ranks as one of the lead-
ing lawyers of the county.
On November 11, 1906, Donald M. Cameron was married to Maude M.
Duncan, a native of Little Falls, Minnesota, born on February 4, 1884, the
daughter of Peter and Beatrice M. (Green) Duncan. Mrs. Cameron's
father was a native of Ireland and her mother a native of England. It was
in Little Falls where they met and were married. Mr. and Mrs. Donald W.
Cameron have three children, Elizabeth Jane, Frances Allister and Robert B.
An ardent Democrat, Donald M. Cameron was attorney for Morrison
county for a period of eight years. He also served fourteen years as United
States commissioner. During the past year he has been serving as city
attorney. From 1903 to 1906 he was the city justice. Mr. Cameron is a
member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Knights of the
Maccabees, the Improved Order of Red Men, the Fraternal Order of Eagles,
the Yeomen and the United Order of Foresters.
JOHN W. STEPHENSON.
It is the progressive wide-awake man of afifairs who determines the
real history of a community. His intluence as a potential factor in the life
of a community is difficult to estimate. The case of John W. Stephenson,
a well-known and successful business man oi I,itlle Falls, Minnesota, is
extremely interesting. In 1909 he came to Little Falls, after having had
practical experience in life as a civil engineer and as a cashier of a bank,
to take charge of the Northwestern Milling Company, which had gone into
the hands of a receiver. Despite the protests of his friends and the repeated
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 523
prediction that he would lose everything in six months, he has made a large
success of the milling business and his firm is well known as the manufac-
turer of a popular brand of flour in this section of the state. Such a man
belongs to the empire builders, who have brought fame and fortune, indus-
trial and commercial prestige to this great country.
John W. Stephenson is a native of Clearfield county, Pennsylvania, the
son of James and Elizabeth (Bell) Stephenson. Mr. Stephenson's father
was a lumber dealer, who also dealt in coal and farm lands. He died in the
Keystone state about 1897 at the age of sixty-seven years, leaving six chil-
dren, William B., Jennie, John W., the subject of this sketch, Emma, Kath-
ryne and Mary. Of these children, William lives on the old Stephenson
homestead in Pennsylvania. He is married and has seven children.
Jennie is unmarried and lives in California. Emma is the wife of William
H. Thomson. They live in the Keystone state and have three children.
Kathryne is the wife of Rev. Charles Stalker, a Friends minister, of
Columbus, Ohio. They have one child. Mary is the wife of Harry
Weimer, who is connected with the Northwestern Milling Company, of
Little Falls.
Mr. Stephenson received his elementary education in the public schools
of Clearfield county, Pennsylvania, and was later graduated from Pennsyl-
vania State College, where he pursued a course in Civil Engineering. After
his graduation he went west and was engaged in engineering work for about
one year. He then returned to Pennsylvania and followed engineering work
in that state for six or seven years, when he was elected cashier of the
Mahaffey National Bank. Although he was not familiar with banking, he
made a success of the business and remained there until 1909, when he came
to Little Falls, purchasing the plant of the Northwestern Milling Company
at a receiver's sale. Mr. Stephenson immediately put the mill in operation
and has been doing a very satisfactory business ever since. The North-
western Milling Company manufactures "Gold Dust" flour, a brand which
is well known in this state.
Mr. Stephenson has extensive holdings in real-estate in Iowa, Pennsyl-
vania and West Virginia. He owns coal lands in Pennsylvania, timber and
coal lands in West Virginia and farm lands in Iowa.
Some time ago John W. Stephenson was married to Sarah McQuesten,
of Muscatine, Iowa. They have no children.
Mr. Stephenson is a Republican in politics and a member of the Benev-
olent and Protective Order of Elks.
524 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
CHRIS HERRMANN.
Born in Wuertemberg, Germany, November 22, 1865, Chris Herrmami,
a well-known citizen of Todd county, Minnesota, and one of the present
commissioners of Todd county, is the son of Chris, Sr., and Caroline
(Scholle) Herrmann, who came to .\merica in 1866 and settled at Marietta,
Lancaster county, Pennsylvania.
After remaining in Lancaster county until the spring of 1879, Mr.
Herrmann's parents moved to Todd county, Minnesota, and settled on a
farm in section 33, of Round Prairie township. Mr. Herrmann's father
had worked in the iron mills of Pennsylvania, but, after coming to Todd
county, engaged in farming. He died on -November 22, 191 1, and his
wife died on March 17, 1898. They were the parents of five children, of
whom Chris, tlie subject of this sketch, is the eldest; Minnie is the wife of
Mathew Mulholland, a farmer of Hurdsfield, North Dakota; Carrie is the
wife of .Mbert Monnie, of Sisscton, South Dakota; Charles lives in Veblen,
Marshall county. South Dakota; and Catherine is the wife of Bertram
Dwelle, of Chaseley, North Dakota. Mr. Herrmann's parents were mem-
bers of the German Evangelical church.
Chris Herrmann received his education in the public schools of Penn-
sylvania principally and, on March 25, 1888, when he was twenty-three years
old, was married to Minnie Kniep. the daughter of Henry Kniep, who was
born in Germany and who came to America in 1882, and settled in Round
Prairie township, Todd county, Minnesota, where he was a farmer. Mrs.
Herrmann's mother died in 1884, but her father is still living in Round
Prairie township. Mr. and Mrs. Chris Herrmann have been the parents
of four children, all of whom are living. Lena, the wife of Nicholas Huff,
who lives in Cuba and has one son, Clarence; Emma, who is the wife of
Fred Rosenow, of Round Prairie township, and has one daughter, Laura ;
Elsie, who is the wife of Leonard Markuson, of Round Prairie township;
and Rudolph, who lives at home with his parents.
Upon coming to Todd county, Mr. Herrmann purchased forty acres of
wild land. He improved this original tract of land and later added forty
acres to it. Subsequently, he sold out and purchased one hundred and
twenty acres in section 14, of Round Prairie township, which at the time
was well improved. Mr. Herrmann is a general farmer and stockman.
Chris Herrmann is a member of Long Prairie Lodge No. 94, Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He was a Democrat until the free silver
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 525
campaign of 1896, when he became a Repubhcan. He is now serving his
second term as commissioner of Todd county. His re-election to this
important office is the best testimony whicli may be offered of his efficiency
and abihty in office and as a pubHc servant. Many years ago, in 1892, he
was elected assessor of his township and served three years. He was
appointed township clerk in the fall of 1894 and served until March, 1915,
when he resigned. Mr. Herrmann also served as school clerk for nine years
and is now serving his eighteenth year as treasurer of the congregation of
the German Evangelical church. He is now serving his third year as secre-
tary of the Hartford Mutual Farmers Insurance Company, of Todd county,
which has a membership of one thousand eight hundred and forty members.
Finally, Mr. Herrmann is vice-president of the Round Prairie Creamery.
AXEL ECKBLAD.
A career of consecutive industry has been that of Axel Eckblad, who
by his worthy life and admirable services has added new dignity to a name
that is well known throughout Morrison county, Minnesota. He is a native
son of Sweden, a country noted for the fine traits of character exhibited by
its people. For many years he has been one of the representative figures in
the agricultural circles of his community and is one of the county's influen-
tial and honored citizens. He has served in various local offices of public
trust and has well upheld the honor of the name he bears.
Axel Eckblad was born in Sweden, on the 23rd of July, 1870, and is
the son of Olaf and Anna (Malm) Eckblad. He is the eldest of five chil-
dren and of the other members of the family the following data is given :
Charles, died in Iowa; Oscar is living in Markus, Iowa; Susie died when she
was three years old ; John is living in Kiron, Iowa. Olaf Eckblad was born
in November, 1864. in Sweden. For a number of years he was a laborer
in his native land until he decided to cross the Atlantic and seek new oppor-
tunities for employment in America. He came to the United States in
1870, and went directly to Princeton, Illinois, where he worked for a while.
He then sent for his wife to come to America, which she did, bringing her
infant son. Axel. In the fall of 1880, the father went to Iowa where he
rented a farm in Crawford county and worked there until 1889. Later,
after buving land in Iowa he retired, and in 1909 moved to Anoka, Minne-
sota, where he is now living. The mother of Axel Eckblad died in 1906,
526 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
at the age of fifty-eight years in Odebolt, Sac county, Iowa. Three years'
later his father married Mrs. Anna Peterson, a widow, who Uke his first
wife, was also a native of Sweden. Mr. and Mrs. Eckblad at the present
time are living at Anoka, Minnesota.
In the district schools of Crawford county, Iowa, Axel Eckblad received
his elementary education. The schools were in no advanced stage of
development and the little learning acquired by the pupils was obtained
only through the most difficult endeavors. The entire term of school
extended only over a period of three months and the other months were
spent on the farm. Axel Eckblad attended school until he was eighteen years
of age. When he was twenty-one years old he began to w^ork out as a farm
hand. During this time he learned the real discipline of farm life and had
many varied experiences. He worked at many kinds of work, among them
being corn shelling and threshing.
In 1896, Axel Eckblad came to Morrison county, Minnesota, where he
worked in Little Falls, for a pine lumber manufacturing company. During
the time he was engaged in this employment, he gave some attention to the
carpenter's trade, an occupation he had learned during his residence in Iowa.
With the carpenter's trade Mr. Eckblad also received numerous offers for
contracting and was contractor for house and barn building in his com-
munity. In 1899 he came to Gushing township and bought eighty acres of
land. On the farm there w-ere no improvements, the dwelling was a rude
shack and the barn was built of logs. Mr. Eckblad has broken up over
fifteen acres of the unimproved land. He has always been an advocate of
everything that is modern in farm improvements and has given evidence of
this in the building of a barn thirty-two by sixty-two feet which represents
up-to-date construction. ihe farm residence is twenty-four by twenty-
eight feet and is situated in a pictures(|ue location. Among the other build-
ings on the farm is a silo. Mr. Eckblad has a graded stock of Guernsey
and Shorthorn cattle. He is a shareholder in the Cushing Creamery Com-
pany and now holds the office of secretary in the same concern. His pro-
gressive policies and fine initiative energy have been brought to bear in the
upbuilding of the community in which he labors.
In 1894, Axel Eckblad was married to Helen Bergman, who was born
on the 19th of January, 1878, in Sweden. She left her native land in 1886,
with her parents, who settled in Iowa ui)on their arrival in this country. Mr.
and Mrs. Bergman are living at the present time with their son, Lewis Berg-
man, in Cushing township, on a farm adjoining the land owned by Mr. Eck-
blad.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 527
To Mr. and Mrs. Eckblad the following children have been born :
Edna, born on August 14, 1895; Edith, October 26, 1897; Rudolph, July 16,
1904; Ralph, January 26, 1909; Arthur, March 9, 1911 ; and Alvin, July
12, 1913.
In religious affairs Mr. Eckblad has always been a firm believer in the
doctrines of the Baptist church. His political affiliations have been with the
Republican party. In offices of public trust Mr. Eckblad has always served
with distinction. For nine years he was township clerk, and left an enviable
record at the time of his retirement.
WARREN W. BROOKS.
Warren W. Brooks, a progressive farmer and stockman of Reynolds
township, Todd county, Minnesota, was born in Onargah, Irociuois county,
Illinois, October 17, 1867, and is the son of Edward M. and Mary E.
(Waters) Brooks.
Mr. Brooks' father is a native of Vermont and his mother a native of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They were married in the Keystone state and,
after their marriage, moved to Illinois, where they lived until about 1870,
when the returned to Pennsylvania. After living in Pennsylvania for a
short time they moved, in 1873, to Kansas, from which place they moved to
Chattanooga, Tennesseee. There they lived about five years, when they
moved to Alabama. From Alabama, the family returned to Illinois and
lived for about one year at Egypt. In the fall of 1887 the family moved to
Redwood, Minnesota. Both parents are still living and make their home
with their children. Mr. Brooks" father was a soldier in the Civil War.
having served in an Illinois regiment. At the time of his discharge he held
the rank of captain.
Warren W. Brooks had preceded the family to Redwood, arriving in
1886. He remained there until 1894. In 1896 he came to Todd county and
settled in Reynolds township. At that time the township was comparatively
new country and the lands were heavily timbered. Mr. Brooks' farm was
of this description. After twenty years of hard, but intelligent work, he has
the one hundred and sixty acres nicely improved, more than one hundred
acres being cleared and under cultivation. He is now engaged not only in
general farming but in dairying, and has one of the good dairy herds of the
county. In seeking to advance the dairy industry of the county, he helped
528 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
to organize the Reynolds Farmers Co-operative Creamery Company, and
during the twelve years of this institution's useful service, he has been its
president. He is also vice-president of the Todd County Guernsey Breeders'
Association and one of the directors of the Todd County Agricultural
Society.
Mr. Brooks has been identified with the public affairs of his township
and has had a leading part in its development. He has at different times
been a sui>ervisor of the town and at the present time is chairman of the
town board. In politics, Mr. Brooks is identified with the Republican party.
On January 5, 1894, Warren W. Brooks was married to Hannah Lins-
cott, a daughter of Benjamin and Anna (Crapo) Linscott, natives of Maine
and New York, respectively. Mrs. Brooks's parents came to Minnesota in
pioneer times and settled in Wells, Faribault county. There they lived a
number of years and then moved to Blue Earth, where they lived until 1900,
when they emigrated to Missouri. After living in that state a few years
they moved to Kansas, and it was there that Mrs. Brooks" father died. Her
mother is still living and is a resident of Pawnee, that state.
Mr. and Mrs. Brooks have seven children, Edward M., Ellen Elizabeth,
Sylvia Etta, Carson Gordon, Mary Alice, William Bradford and Dorothy
Helen, all of whom live at home. They and their family are members of the
Presbyterian church. Fraternally, Mr. Brooks is a member of the Long
Prairie lodge. Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a type of the good
citizen that a community is fortunate to possess — a self-made man and suc-
cessful farmer.
PAUL GENDREAU.
Paul Gendreau, a prosperous farmer of ;\gram township, Morrison
county, Minnesota, who is of French descent, and of Canadian birth, is a
man who has not been favored by inherited wealth or the assistance of
influential friends. In spite of this, however, by persevering industry' and
\\'\»c economy he- has obtained an affluent station in life, and is well and
favorably known throughout Morrison county, as the result of more than
thirty years continuous living in this section. Here he is regarded as a
man of the best type of American citizen. He is straightforward, unas-
suming, genial and obliging, and while l.ilxiring for his own personal wel-
fare, he has not neglected his general duties as a citizen. .Mtogethor he
owns seven hundred and sixty acres of land in one body in .\gram township.
I'Ari. GIONDKlOAr
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 529
Paul Gendreau was bom at St. Luke, twenty-five miles south of Mon-
treal, Canada, July 5, 1846. He is a son of Julius and Mary Ann (Veant)
Gendreau, the former of whom was born at St. Luke, near Montreal, in
1817, and who lived at the latter place until about thirty-five years of age,
when he moved to a farm near St. Luke. After farming near this place
for many years, the family came to Little Falls township, Morrison county,
Minnesota, where Julius Gendreau lived with his son until a short time
before his death, when he went .to live with another child, and there he died
in 1884.' He was a most e.xcellent man and a good citizen.
After coming to Little Falls in 1881, Paul Gendreau was employed by
the Northern Pacific Railway Company for two years, then purchased forty
acres of land in Little Falls township for six hundred dollars. Later he
bought forty acres in section 16, and then one hundred and sixty acres in
section 13. Afterwards he bought eighty acres in section 14, one hundred
and twenty acres in section 16, two hundred and forty acres in section 17,
two hundred and forty acres in section 9, and one hundred and sixty acres
in section 9. He has since sold some of this land, but Mr. Gendreau still
owns seven hundred and sixty acres. He has a magnificent farm, and
always has good crops. He is engaged in the dairy business in connection
with general farming and stock raising. Mr. Gendreau has just completed
the erection of a new home, and is now building a large and commodious
barn with the latest improvements for convenience in feeding. This barn
is to be equipped with a device whereby all of the stock can be locked in
their stalls at one time. He has a great many cattle of the Red Polled
breed, and one hundred and twenty-five head of Duroc-Jersey hogs. Mr.
Gendreau has been experimenting in raising various kinds of farm produce
not common to this locality. He has introduced both clover and timothy,
and now makes these crops a specialty on his farm.
Paul Gendreau's wife, before her marriage, was Odile Deslauriers.
Mr. and Mrs. Gendreau are the parents of eight children, Eugene, Hector,
Olive, Louise, Homer, Adelard, Eugenie, and one who died early in life.
Eugene married Tillie Augmier, of Pierz, Little Falls township. Olive is
the wife of Frank Manlier, a farmer of North Dakota.
Mr. Gendreau is a Democrat in politics, and served as a member of the
school board for seventeen years, until 1914. The family are all members
of the French Catholic church at Little Falls, Mr. Gendreau being the oldest
member of this church.
(34)
530 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
ALFRED E. ROESE.
Journalism is one of the most important factors in twentieth century
life and exerts a profound influence upon all phases of society. The rela-
tion is just as profound and the influence just as great in the smaller cities
and towns as in the larger cities. Among the newspaper men of Todd
county, Minnesota, who have, by their progressive attitude towards local
affairs, contributed in a very definite measure to the advancement of the
community is Alfred E. Roese, a trained newspaper man, who, since Septem-
ber, 1914, has been the editor and proprietor of the Todd County Argus.
Alfred E. Roese was born on February 5, 1863, at Osceola, Polk county,
Wisconsin, and is the son of Stephen and Catherine Roese, the former of
whom was born at Whora, Hesse-Cassel, Germany, in July, 1829, and who,
after serving in the German army from 1845 to 1856, came to America in
1856 and lived for a time in New York city. Mrs. Catherine Roese died
at Osceola, Wisconsin, in December, 1865, when her son, Alfred E., was a
lad of less than three years. Mr. Roese's father died at Maiden Rock, Wis-
consin, in March, 1897. There were four children in the Roese family,
Augustus, who resides at Plummer, in Red Lake county, Minnesota; Lizzie
C, who is the wife of R. E. Smith, of Crookston, Polk county. Minnesota;
Ina S., who is the wife of Lester Martin, of Oshko.sh, Wisconsin; and Alfred
E. Roese, the subject of this sketch.
Alfred E. Roese received his education in the common schools of
Maiden Rock, Wisconsin, and, from 1895 to 1898, was employed as a civil
engineer in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa. \\'ashington, Oregon and Idaho.
From 1889 to 1894 he conducted a restaurant at Maiden Rock, Wisconsin.
In September, 1892, he launched the Press, at Maiden Rock, Wisconsin,
and, in Sejjtember, 1897, moved the plant to Osceola, Wisconsin, establish-
ing the S»M, which he conducted until May, 1910. In that year, he sold out
at Osceola and went to Oregon, but returned in the following September
and purchased the Hudson (Wisconsin) Star-Ohscrvcr. In 1912, he sold
this paper and went to Oregon again. He returned in i9i,v -ti'' purchased
the IVorthington (Minnesota) Globe, which he sold in September, of the
same year, to A. M. Welles, of Sauk Center, Steams county. In Septem-
ber, 1914, Mr. Roese purchased the Todd County Argus and has puljlished
it ever since.
Alfred E. Roese was married in January, 1899, to Lizzie M. Bowers,
the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Rowers, of Maiden Rock, Wisconsin.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 53 1
Mrs. Reese's father, John Bowers, was born in Germany, July 5, 1833, and
her mother in 1850, in Canada. They were the parents of three daughters
and two sons, Mrs. NelHe A. Holstrom, of Lake, Minnesota; Mrs. Lizzie
M. Roese, the wife of the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Sayde Hagg, of Gully,
Polk county; Dr. J. T., of Gully; and Dr. H. E., of St. Paul, Minnesota.
For the past twenty-one years, Alfred E. Roese has been a member of
the Masonic fraternity. He has been a member of the Indei)endent Order
of Odd Fellows since 1886. Mrs. Roese is a member of the Order of the
Eastern Star and the Daughters of Rebekah. Mr. and Mrs. Roese are
prominent in Long Prairie and highly respected by all who know them.
FRED FREEMAN.
There are individuals in nearly every community who, by reason of
pronounced ability and force of character, rise above the heads of the masses
and command the unbounded esteem of their fellow men. Characterized by
perseverance and a directing spirit, two virtues which never fail, such men
always make their presence felt, and the vigor of their strong personality
serves as a stimulus and incentive to the young and rising generation. To
this energetic and enterprising class the respected subject of this sketch very
properly belongs, for he is indebted to his own ability solely for his present
pleasing station in life. Mr. Freeman has always conscientiously performed
every duty as it appeared and has the ability to see and grasp an oppor-
tunity before it is even apparent to the ordinary observer, and these quali-
ties serve him well as representative of the Gatly Supply Company in his
travels over the states of North and South Dakota and Minnesota.
Fred Freeman, whose main occupation is that of farming his home-
stead in Darling township, Morrison county, is a native of Wisconsin, born
at Berlin, that state, on Decemljer 8, 1864, a son of William and Maria
(Courtney) Freeman. Mr. Freeman's father was a native of the state of
New York, Ijorn in 1839, and was a carpenter and bridge builder by trade.
He came into the West when he was a young man about twenty years of
age, and located in Berlin, near where he spent the balance of his life, his
death occurring in 1912. His widow is still living and makes her home at
New London, Wisconsin, with Leslie, brother of the immediate subject of
this sketch. Mrs. Freeman was born on .'Vpril 23, 1840, near Winneconne,
53-2 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Wisconsin, where her parents were engaged in farming for a great many-
years, being among the earliest settlers of that locality.
Fred Freeman was reared in Berlin, attending the public schools of
that town, and when eighteen years of age became night clerk in a hotel, a
short time later being made manager of the Woodroff hotel, of Berlin. He
filled that position for six years and then moved to Superior, Wisconsin,
where for the following eight years he operated a dray line. His next move
was to Morrison county, where he became engaged in the restaurant busi-
ness in Little Falls. At the same time he purchased an eighty-acre tract of
land located in section 29, of Darling township, and became interested in
agriculture. This land was wholly unimproved and he set about carrying
out the plans which he had made for a handsome farm home. He continued
in the restaurant business until 1905, when he took up his residence on his
farm.
Mr. Freeman has a beautiful home, the residence being cottage style,
size twenty-four by thirty-five feet, with a fine barn thirty by fifty feet, and
all outbuildings neat and well adapted for such use as is desired of them.
Attractively arranged grounds make for the beauty of this home, which is
located about four miles from Randall and seven miles from Little Falls.
Mr. Freeman has forty-four acres under cultivation, nine acres being in
corn, and he takes particular pride and interest in his herd of graded stock.
Mr. Freeman's business takes him away from home considerably, but in all
his undertakings he finds a most able assistant in his wife, who is capable of
managing the farm in his absence.
Mrs. Freeman, before her marriage, was Katherine O'Neal, who was
born on April 23, 1864, at Chilton, Wisconsin, daughter of John and Anna
(Sage) O'Neal, both of whom were natives of Ireland. Both of Mrs. Free-
man's parents left their native land while still children, being brought to this
country by their respective parents, and all engaged in farming in the same
neighborhood in Wisconsin. There the young people grew to maturitv and
were married. Mrs. Freeman was reared on a farm and secured her ele-
mentary education in the district schools near her home, supplemented with
higher training in the Chilton schools. Mr. and Mrs. Freeman were mar-
ried in 1885, and to their union have been born three children. They have
had the misfortune to lose the youngest two, Mabel and George, the sole
surviving one being Maud, the eldest of the family, who is the wife of J- W.
Levins, of Two Harbors, this state.
Mr. Freeman holds his religious membership with the Bai)tist church.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 533
while his wife is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church. In politics,
he votes the Democratic ticket and takes a commendable interest in party
affairs, although he has always been too much engrossed in other matters
to devote any time to political affairs. His fraternal affiliation is with the
Modern Woodmen of America, through their local lodge at Little Falls.
Mr. Freeman is a man who delights in keeping abreast of the times
and all the work of his farm is handled in an up-to-date manner, the appear-
ance of the entire place being highly complimentary to the owner. His
duties away from home are most efficiently discharged, and throughout the
years he is a man who has proven himself a man among men at every step
in life. Vigorous and genial in manner, he has a host of friends and enjoys
a high reputation because of the honest success which he has won.
CHRISTIAN MOLDE.
A life that almost thrills with its dramatic possibilities and one which
gives evidence of the fact that success comes to the deserving, is that of
Christian Molde, who, left upon his own resources at the age of ten years,
has successfully mastered privation and crushed hardship until his name has
become a synonym for achievement in the community in which he lives.
His career has been one of struggle through difficulties, long study and
varied occupations. He has proved that a meager education need not neces-
sarily be a handicap to success but an incentive to ambition and industrial
triumph.
On the i8th of April, 1859, Christian Molde was born in Norway.
He js the son of Hendrick Peterson and Crete Molde, both of whom died
in Norway, their native land. For a short time the subject of this sketch
attended the schools of Norway and at the age of ten, when he was thrown
upon his own resources, his elementary education was cut short and he went
to work for a farmer. His first start in a life of constant employment was
received by herding cattle on a Norwegian farm. At this occupation he
worked for six years, when his ambitions for a change led him to Sweden,
where he worked for two years. During that time a life on the seas
appealed to him strongly, and he seized every opportunity to learn more
regarding the fisheries, which are by far the greatest industry in his native
land. Upon leaving Sweden it is quite natural that he should have gone to
sea. He embarked upon a fishing vessel, fishing for herring in the summer
534 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
and codfish in the winter. This occupation furnished many experiences and
Christian Molde remained with it for seven years. He decided to come to
America, and left Norway on the 6th of February, 1882, and landing at
Boston he went directly to Fergus Falls, Minnesota, arriving in the city on
the nth of March, 1882. His first employment there was with a construc-
tion crew on a railroad between Brainerd and Breckenridge, Minnesota. He
worked there until July of 1882, and went to Canada, where he worked for
the Canadian Pacific railroad. In the fall of the same year he went to
Minneapolis, where he worked for ten years in a saw-mill and lumber yard.
Although he fully appreciated the advantages of his early education,
Christian Molde learned his real lessons in the school of experience. He was
always quick to seize every opportunity for bettering himself, and one of
his greatest chances for advancement came when he discovered that the
best-paid men in his same field of endeavor were those who were called
"scalers." His meager education only served as a stimulus, and he began at
once under severe trials to learn to scale timber. At first the task seemed
almost impossible, he studied at nights and in the winter when the mill was
closed until finally the day of climax came and he had learned to scale
timber. He was not long finding a place in that field of employment, and
it is a remarkable fact, considering his individual preparation, that he was
eventually considered one of the best scalers in the employment of the con-
cern for which he worked.
In 1888 Christian Molde bought eighty acres of land in Morrison
county, Minnesota, from N. C. Frederickson. Shortly after purchasing the
land, Mr. Molde learned, to his disappointment, that the title to the land
was worthless and as a result all his savings of years were lost. In 1892
Mr. Molde returned to Morrison county and bought eighty acres of land of
a wild and unimproved character covered with timber.
During the first winter spent by Mr. Molde on the farm in Morrison
county, he cut one hundred and seventy-five cords of wood from five acres.
He began at once to build a house, and though he had no exjjerience as a
carpenter, he built a two-story residence without any assistance. The first
barn on the place was made of logs, but in 1007 it was replaced by a thor-
oughly modern barn of large proportions. At the present time he has forty-
five acres cleared and twenty acres are in meadow. Mr. Molde has also
added to his possessions by purchasing the tract of sixty acres of land
adjoining his farm. He has an unusual grade of fine cattle and owns stock
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 535
in the Swanville Creamery Company. He was treasurer of the same con-
cern for three years. Mr. Molde, through his honesty in business deahngs,
has reached an enviable place in public confidence and esteem. He has held
numerous offices, among which have been chairman of the town board of
Swanville township. At the present time he is assessor of the township.
As a member of the Scandinavian Congregational church, Mr. Molde
has exemplified much Christian charity and generosity. Aside from serving
as clerk of the official board of the church he donated the ground for a
brick church erected near his home.
In 1884 Christian Molde was married to Kristine Westgrund, a native
of Norway, who came to this country at the same time her husband did.
Five children have been born to this union : Henry and Harry, staying on
the farm; Georgie, who lives in Minneapolis with her sister, Petra; Alfred,
who is a graduate of the Little Falls Business College and is now purchasing
agent for the Butler Manufacturing, Company, sheet metal works, located at
Minneapolis; Petra, who is the wife of Oliver Dolven, a laborer in Minnea-
polis, and the mother of one child, Arnold Curtis.
It is interesting to note in closing a review of the life of Christian
Molde that his first naturalization papers were taken out in 1884 and that
he became an American citizen in 1895, a title he is proud to possess.
OLE NYGAARD.
Those who ha\'e fought the obstacles incident to establishing a com-
munity in primitive surroundings, deserve a place of honor in the ranks of
the pioneers in the state of their labors. Among the prominent men of Mor-
rison county, Minnesota, who owe their success to the sterling traits of
character which enabled them to clear the large tracts of wilderness and
convert them into cultivated and attractive farm lands, is Ole Nygaard.
Being a Norwegian by birth, he has naturally exhibited the racial character-
istics of thrift and endurance which have characterized the people of his
native land and has been a strong element in the citizenship which has con-
tributed to the prosperity of Minnesota as an agricultural state.
Ole Nvgaard was born in Norway, on the 27th of February, 1859, and
is the son of Bjerte Erickson and Ragna (Erickson) Erickson. Eight of
the twelve children born to this union are still living. The father, Bjerte
536 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Erickson, was born in Norway in 1820, and was engaged in farming during
the greater part of his life. He died in 1895. His wife was also a native
of Norway, having been born in that country in 1823. She passed away in
1913 and is buried in Norway with her husband.
After completing his education in the elementary schools in his native
land, Ole Nygaard saw more hope for a successful future in this country
than in Norway; this fact led to his immigration in the year 1885. Upon
arriving in America he went directly to Minneapolis, where for a number of
years he worked as a stonemason. Mr. Nygaard, in 1899, left Minne-
apolis and went to Morrison county, Minnesota, where he bought one hun-
dred and sixty acres of land from a railroad company. The fact that the
land was in an uncleared condition, did not discourage the owner. He pro-
ceeded at once to grapple with the task of clearing the farm of its abundant
supply of under-brush and timber. The work was long and tedious, but it
brought with it the reward of visible results.
After its covering of wild growth has been removed the soil has been
found to possess great qualities of richness. Mr. Nygaard has foreseen the
possibilities of the soil, and has seized upon the opportunity to increase his
land holdings, so that at the present time he owns two hundred and twenty-
one acres, forty acres of which is in an excellent state of cultivation. For
four years the only dwelling on the place was a log cabin of the most prim-
itive type. At the present time, however, an attractive residence occupies the
dwelling site. The house is a two-story structure of seven rooms and is
modern. Mr. Nygaard gives part of his attention to rearing high grade
stock. He is a shareholder in the C'ushing and Randall creamery com-
panies.
Three weeks before leaving Norway. Ole Nygaard was married to
Engeborg Erickson who was bom in Norway on the 22nd of Fel)ruary,
1859. They have liccome the parents of the following children : Bernard
E., who holds the responsible position of agent of the Northern Pacific rail-
road; Ragna, who is deceased; Rudolph, who is a relief agent for the North-
ern Pacific railroad, having filled that ini]inrtant position since 1908; and
Elmer, who is living at home.
Mr. Nygaard in his political interests is an advocate of the principles
of tlie Republican ])arty. He has continued to give his support to the estab-
lished church of Norway, the Lutheran church, and is one of its faithful
members. Tn school affairs he has always been active and is chainnan of
the school board in Cushing township; he has taken a firm hokl on public
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 537
confidence and holds the office of road supervisor, in the township where he
resides.
Mr. Nygaard conducts a store in Gushing for tlie sale of farm imple-
ments and is doing a very- satisfactory volume of business.
CARL O. DALOUIST.
Among the worthy citizens of Randall, Darling township, Morrison
county, Minnesota, is Carl O. Dalquist, the subject of this short biographical
sketch. Mr. Dalquist's career has proven the fact that coupled with his
innate honesty he possesses unlimited energy and a determination to succeed
in life along legitimate lines. When a young man he came to this country
and, without means or influential friends, has won for himself a pleasing
degree of material success and the unbounded confidence and friendship of
those with whom he comes in contact.
Carl O. Dalquist is a native of the land of Sweden, born on May 31,
1866, a son of Andrew and Anna (Nelson) Dalquist, being the eldest of
their family of three. The others are Peter, who is engaged in farming in
section 7 of Darling township, this county, and Axel, a section foreman on
the railroad, residing at Randall. Andrew Dalquist was born in 1835, and
from early manhood was employed as a farm laborer. He emigrated to
this country in 1890 and settled in Ishpeming, Michigan, where Carl, the
immediate subject of this sketch, had located some time previous. Carl was
employed in the mines at that point for about four and one-half years and
the father also worked as a miner for about three years. He then gave up
active labor, as the burden of years was beginning to tell on him, and has
since made his home with his children, living with his son Peter most of the
time. The mother, who was born in 1845, is also living, making her home
with her children, all of whom are doing well. Both parents are in good
health, considering their years.
Carl O. Dalquist left Sweden in 1888, and after spending about four
and one-half years in the mines at Ishpeming, Michigan, he came to Morrison
countv, where he has since made his home. Previous to coming here he had
invested in some land in section 7, Darling township, and he now owns
si.xty-three acres, all improved with the exception of twenty acres, nine
acres being planted to corn. His land is some of the most valuable in this
section, lying, as it does, within the corporation limits of the city of Ran-
538 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
dall. In addition to his business as a farmer, Mr. Dalquist is largely inter-
ested in the Randall Co-operative Creamery Company, and for the past four
years has served as its president.
Carl O. Dalquist was married in 1888 to Hulda Johnson, who was also
a native of Sweden, born in 1863. She left her native land in 1888 and
her death occurred ten years later, within a few years after her marriage.
She was the mother of five children, three of whom are deceased. David
and Ephraim, the eldest two, are deceased, as is also Paul, the youngest of
the family. Those remaining, Esther and Carl, remain at home with the
father.
Mr. Dalquist is a faithful member of the Congregational church and
is a most ardent supporter of the Prohibition party, taking a keen interest
in the affairs of that organization. He has found time from his private
Ijusiness to serve on the city council and is of that class of men who most
conscientiously perform any duty which devolves upon them. In view of
this fact and because of his genial and friendly nature, Mr. Dalquist enjoys
in a high degree the honest liking of a goodly circle of friends.
JOHN W. HANSON.
Those who think deeply enough will realize that the greatness of any
conmuinity, state or nation, does not rest so much with the machinery of
government or even with its instituions in themselves, but rather in the
sterling qualities of the individual citizen in his capacity for high and
unselfish effort and his devotion to his duties, wheliier thev be of private or
public nature. As a citizen of the class above named, the attention of the
reader is called to a short sketch of the career of John \V. Hanson, a farmer
of Green Prairie township, Morrison county. Minnesota. Mr. Hanson has
shown himself to be a man of kind and generous impulses and therefore
stands high in the regard of friends.
John W. Hanson was born in IronwDod, Michigan, on October 22,
1889, a son of .Andrew and Augusta (Anderson) Hanson, both natives of
Sweden. .Xndrcw emigrated to .\nicrica in 1876, going directly to Norway,
Michigan, where he secured work in the ir<in mines ami where he remained
for the ne.xt few years. He ne.xt went to Ironwood. Michigan, where he
was employed in the iron mines for about twenty-five years. Finally tiring
of this work and longing for the freedom of farm life, in ic)o_^ he came to
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 539
Morrison county and purchased eighty acres in Green Prairie township. A
small portion of this land was improved and there were a few necessary
buildings on the tract, but the greater number of acres were covered with
wild brush timber. Andrew set about improving his buildings and clearing
up the balance of his land. He succeeded well in his undertaking, later pur-
chasing twenty acres of land adjoining his tract on the south. He also
cleared that and made his home on the original plat until die time of his
death, on March 31, 1913.
Andrew Hanson was twice married, his first wife being Augusta
Anderson, a native of Sweden, who came to this country when a young
woman. She was the mother of three children, the eldest being John W.,
the immediate subject of this sketch, Julius E. and Arthur. Julius E. is a
stationary engineer in Minneapolis, and Arthur is a street railway conductor
in the same city. After the death of his first wife, Andrew Hanson married
Augusta Swanson, also a native of Sweden, and to that union were also
born three children. These are Ellen, Fred and Alfred, who make their
home on the father's farm now in charge of John W.
John VV. Hanson passed his boyhood days in Ironwood, Michigan,
being educated in the schools of that town, and came to Morrison county
with his parents. He started out for himself in life when a quite young
man, his first employment being with the Mississippi and Rum River Boom
Company, handling logs. He worked on the river in this manner for about
three years and then went to Minneapolis, where he was employed as a street
car conductor for about one year. While thus employed, he attended school
at night and became proficient in the use of the Morse code, after which he
entered the employ of the Soo railroad as operator at Wimbledon, North
Dakota.
In 1913, shortly after the death of his father, John W. Hanson gave
up his position with the railroad comiiany and returned to Morrison county,
here to take up the work of his father's farm and make a home for his
younger half-brothers and sister. Since then he has had charge of the
farm and its work and the one hundred acres which it contains are being
cared for in a manner complimentary to Mr. Hanson. He does general
farming as practiced in this section and in addition has a nice herd of dairy
cattle.
On Tune 13. 1913, John W. Hanson was united in marriage with
Julia Akre, born on October 12, 1892, at Enderlin, North Dakota, daughter
of Nels O. and Helen (Rengheim) Akre, natives of Norway. Mrs. Han-
son was educated in the public schools of Enderlin, being graduated from
540 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
the high school there, later becoming a student at the normal school at
Valley City, North Dakota. She remained under the parental roof until
the time of her marriage and came to Morrison county as a bride. To this
union has been born one child, Helen. Mr. Hanson holds his religious
membership in the Swedish Mission church, in the work of which he is
sincerely interested, and his political support is usually given to the Repub-
lican party, though he is an independent voter. Mr. Hanson is a member
of the Knights of the Maccabees.
Mr. Hanson possesses sterling qualities of manhood, which win and
retain for him the highest respect of those who know him. He is succeeding
also in a material way and doubtless the years hold in store for him not
only worldly gain, but a still greater degree of trust and confidence from
his fellow citizens.
PAUL JASCHKE.
One of the substantial citizens of Parker township, Morrison county,
Minnesota, is Paul Jaschke, the respected subject of this sketch. Mr. Jaschke
is one of the leading farmers of his community and is coming to have more
than a local reputation as a breeder of live stock. He is also financially
interested in the I^andall Co-operative Creamery Company, and is in every
sense of the word an upright and progressive citizen.
Paul Jaschke was born on June 21, 1878, in Germany, near the great
city of Berlin, his father being a cobbler. He is a son of Carl and Mary
(Menzle) Jaschke, she being Tiis .second wife. By his first wife Carl Jaschke
became the father of four children and by the second wife there was a fam-
ily of eight, the immediate subject of this sketch being the second child in
order of birth. The elder Jaschke was born in Germany on March 30, 1842,
and was a cobbler by trade. In 1885 he left his native land and emigrated
to America, bringing with him his entire family. They located in Carver
county, this state, where he worked at the carpenter's trade until May 25,
1897, when they came to Morrison county. Here he purchased one hundred
and twenty acres of land in section 26. of Parker township and set about
clearing and cultivating the l.ind. He later bought one hundred and twenty
additional acres in the same section and was busily engaged in farming at
the time of his death, in 1904. His wife, who was born in 1851, died in
1902. Carl Jaschke had served his titne in the German army and was in the
War of 1868 with .'\ustria and also in the I'Vench campaign. While in
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 54I
active service he endured much hardship and exposure, which impaired his
health and shortened his Hfe.
Paul, the immediate subject of this sketch, was six years old when the
family left Germany and was largely reared on a farm. He attended
school only until eleven years of age, and was early trained by his father to
assist in the work of the homestead. Since his parents first came to this
county he has continued to make his home on the same farm, having fallen
heir to the original tract of one hundred and twenty acres. He was fifteen
hundred dollars in debt when he took the farm and since that time has
succeeded so well that he has been able to discharge his obligations. He has
an excellent strain of Shropshire sheep and is known as an intelligent
breeder. He exhibited three head at the Little Falls fair and was given the
second prize. He is also the owner of a fine Percheron stallion, which was
exhibited at the same fair and took the third ribbon.
On October 19, 1908, Paul Jaschke was united in marriage to Gertrude
Kampnich, born on January 16, 1889, near Long Lake, Minnesota, a daugh-
ter of John and Barbara (Bermal) Kempnich, both natives of Germany, but
now residents of Parker township, this county, their farm being located in
section i. To Mr. and Mrs. Jaschke have been born four children, namely:
Thresa and Carl, deceased; Evelyn and Caroline, who are at home with the
parents. Mr. Jaschke is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church, and
in politics he votes independently. He has always taken a keen interest in
community affairs and is now a member of the school board of district No.
53, of Parker township. Mr. Jaschke is one of the sterling citizens and
representative men of his community who has lived and labored to worthy
ends, and is therefore justly entitled to the high regard in which he is held.
JOHN WAIT.
Among the most prominent citizens of Long Prairie, Todd county,
Minnesota, who are now gone from this world and whose work is finished,
is the late John Wait, a member of the Minnesota Legislature for one term,
the register of deeds in Todd county for three consecutive terms and a
prominent business man of Todd county.
John Wait was born on December 8, 184 1, in Canada, and was the
son of Alexander and Euphemia (Colburn) Wait, who were natives of
Scotland. They emigrated to Canada in pioneer times and setded in
542 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Kent, where Alexander Wait was a sliip carpenter. He died in 1872, leav-
ing two children, John, the subject of this sketch, and Anna, who is now
Mrs. George Gray, of Dodge county, Minnesota.
John Wait remained in his native land until twelve years old. During
this period of his life he attended the^excellent common schools. When he
was twelve years old he moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he remained
for two years. He then went to the northern shores of Lake Huron, where,
for the ne.xt live years, he was engaged in tishing. In 1862 he moved to
Minnesota and settled in Minneapolis. Shortly thereafter he enlisted in the
Sixth Regiment, Minnesota \'olunteer Infantry, and served until 1865,
receiving an honorable discharge in August of that year. He participated
in the battle of Wood Lake and was with both of the Sibley expeditions.
While on one of these expeditions he was an eye-witness to a most singular
phenomenon. A soldier was killed by lightning from what appeared to be a
perfectly cloudless sky. Mr. Wait also took part in the expedition from
Xew Orleans to Mobile and was engaged in the last battle of the war, the
battle of Blakely, in May, 1865. After the close of the war, Mr. Wait
moved to Todd county, Jvlinnesota, and located in Hartford township, where
he took up land, upon which he later proved up. After residing in Hartford
township for five years he moxed to the village of Long Prairie and engaged
in the general mercantile business, in partnership with Chandler &: Fisher.
.After some ten or twelve years, Mr. Wait, who in the meantime had
been engaged in the grain business, purchased ^Ir. Fisher's interest and
continued in partnership with Mr. Chandler for about one year. He then
purchased a fiouring-mill and operated it thereafter for a period of thirty-
five years.
On October 29, 1871, John Wait was married to Emily Chandler, a
native of Indiana and the daughter of Silas P. and Lydia (Smith) Chandler,
the former of whom was born on April 7, 1825, at Watertown, Washing-
ton county, Ohio, where he lived until twelve years old. At that time. Silas
P. Chandler moved with his parents to Randolph county, Indiana, and settled
on a farm in Jackson townshij). which was tiien considered a frontier settle-
ment. He was one of eight chiUlrcn and was left fatherless at the age of
tifteen years. Upon him fell much of the care and responsibility which
naurally belongs to the head of the family. .\t the early age of nineteen
years, he was married to Lydia Smith, and to them were born four daugh-
ters, one of whom died in infancy, and another at the age of thirteen. The
two living daughters were Melissa, who married Jacob Fisher, and Emily,
who married John Wait, the subject of this sketch.
MORRISON' AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 543
In 1863 Mr. Chandler and family moved to Olmstead county, Minne-
sota, where he remained four years, after which he moved to Sauk Center,
in 1867. There he opened a general store and in 1868 brought his stock of
goods to Long Prairie, where he laid the foundation of a prosperous busi-
ness in partnership with Jacob Fisher. Two or three years afterward the
firm became known as Chandler, Fisher & Wait. For many years this has
been one of the leading institutions in Todd county. When Air. Chandler
came to Long Prairie, there was but one family, that of Mr. Vennewitz.
He became a member of the Baptist church and was an active member until
the time of his death. For a time he was a memlser of the state missionary
board. He was always a stanch supporter of temperance reform, and in
his early manhood participated in the anti-slavery agitation. He was on the
side of the persecuted race and once submitted to a fine rather than fulfill
the duties of a township office to which he had been elected. He refused to
take an oath to support the constitution of his state, since it prohibited giving
aid and comfort to fugitive slaves. He participated in all movements for the
promotion of moral, educational and religious enterprise, and in this com-
munity was an active, thorough-going and unostentatious helper. He died
on January 18, 1885.
To Mr. and IVIrs. John Wait were born nine children, five of whom are
living. The names of the children, in tlie order of their births, are as follow:
Melvin S., who died at the age of twenty; Florence X.. who is the wife of
C. H. Henderson and lives at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Robert C, who
lives at home and operates the home farm; he served in the Spanish-Ameri-
can War and was a member of Company K, Fourteenth Regiment Minne-
sota \'olunteer Infantry, later re-enlisting in Company C. Forty-fifth Regi-
ment. United States Infantry, and served in the Philippine Islands; Mar-
garet, who is the wife of E. S. Boyd, of Alburg, Vermont; John R., who
is a resident of Great Falls, Montana: Nell E., who is a teacher in Virginia;
Paul C. who died in 191 1 ; and two who died in infancy.
Tohn Wait was elected to the Minnesota Legislature in 1876 and served
one term in the house. From 1894 to 1900 he was register of deeds in Todd
countv. ha\ing ben elected three consecutive times. He was a Republican
in politics, but was always broad-minded and liberal to all who saw different
than he regarding political matters. In 1901 he engaged in the real estate
business at Long Prairie and was still engaged in this business at the time
of his death. May 14. 1903.
John Wait was not only a man of great ability, but he was a man who
used his ability in behalf of all good things. He was possessed of remark-
544 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
able courage and did not hesitate to express his opinion frankly, though he
was broad-minded and tolerant. He lived a noble life during his many
years in this community and performed many worthy deeds which will long
endure in the annals of this countv.
REV. THEODORE JOSEPH REKOSIAK.
Perhaps the best known among the Polish priests of Morrison county,
Minnesota, is the Rev. Theodore Joseph Rekosiak, who has been pastor of
the Polish church at Little Falls, Minnesota, since his ordination in 1902.
Father Rekosiak preaches in the Polish church. He has a most enthusiastic
and loyal following in this county, and is an earnest, zealous and well-
informed churchman.
Born in Poland on October 22, 1872, Rev. Theodore J. Rekosiak is a
"son of Martin and Petronella Rekosiak, natives of Poland, who emigrated
to the United States in 1881, settling first in Chicago. Mrs. Martin Reko-
siak died in 1905, while her husband is still living in Chicago, where the
family first located on coming to America.
Although only nine years old when his parents came to this country,
Theodore J. Rekosiak had attended the elementary schools of Poland for
one or two terms before leaving his native land. After settling in Chicago,
he attended the Polish parochial school in that city, and while still a lad
decided to become a priest. After finishing his studies in the common
school, he was a student at St. Stanislaus College, at Chicago, where for
two years he pursued his studies. Afterwards he attended St. Jerome
College, Rcrlin, Ontario, for two years, a college conducted by the Resur-
rection h'athers. Finally he attended St. Paul Seminary, at St. Paul, Minne-
sota, five years, studying philosophy two years and theology for three years.
He was ordained to the holy priesthood on November 28, 1902, by Bishop
Thobec, of St. Cloud, Minnesota, and shortly afterwards took charge of
the Polish church at Little Falls, of which he has since been the pastor.
Here at Little Falls, Father Rekosiak has one of the largest churches
in Morrison county, and needless to say, bis long service in this community
is a proof of his ])opularity among his ixirishiouers. He is an eloquent
orator, a sympathetic, kind and loving ()astor. devoted sincerely to the
church and its work.
REV. TIIKODOKi: .1. KKKoSlAK
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 545
OSCAR E. SWANSON.
The great commonwealth of Minnesota has become populated to a
greater extent with the sturdy, industrious emigrants from Sweden than is
the case in any other state in the union. Sweden is a northern country and
is extensively engaged in the production of lumber and iron; these same
facts apply to the state of Minnesota, and in the evolution of working out
their fortunes in the New World, these determined Swedish emigrants have
more especially selected the state of Minnesota as a favorite section for
their homes and business affairs, because of the similarity of climate to their
native country. Universally they have made good, and the prosperity in
state of their adoption bears tribute to their labors.
Oscar E. Swanson, a brief history of whose life is here recorded, was
born on October 9, 1S71, in Sweden, and is the son of Charles and Carrie
(Iver) Swanson, to whom were born five children, three of whom are
living. Charles Swanson was born in 182 1, in Sweden, and was engaged in
the occupation of a carpenter until his death, in that country on December
31, 1901. Carrie (Iver) Swanson was born in Sweden in 1831, and in
1902, one year after the death of her husband, left the land of her birth
and joined her children in Morrison county, Minnesota, where she died on
March 4, 191 5.
Oscar E. Swanson received his education in the schools of his native
country, and in 1887 came to rVmerica and located in Kittson county, Minne-
sota, where he worked one year as a railroad employee. After this first
introduction on American soil he was employed as a farm hand for a period
of nine years, after which he spent several years working at various occupa-
tions, including mining. For thirteen years Oscar Swanson had lived in
this country, working with an object in view, had saved his wages and on
December 2, 1902, at the age of thirty-one years, he felt prepared to begin
business for himself, and with a determination that brooks no defeat, he
and his brother, Alfred, came to Belle Prairie township, where they imme-
diately launched into the mercantile business.
Prospering in all business connections, Oscar Swanson is the owner of
a half interest in eighty acres of land and a stockholder in a creamery, in the
town of Freedham, Minnesota, in which town he lives. At the present time
he has under construction an ample, one-story store building, twenty-seven
bv sixtv feet in dimensions.
'(35)
546 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
In his political life, Oscar E. Swanson is a Republican and is an ardent
member of the Swedish Lutheran church. Although never seeking public
office, he was selected by his many friends as township trustee, in which
capacity he is now serving. His life has been one of constant application,
guided by an honest heart, and he is admitted to be the personification of
integrity and enterprise by all who know him.
HENRY SWANSON.
The great immigration from Sweden has been of marked value to the
agricultural and industrial progress of the United States. Among those
citizens of foreign birth who have contributed liberally to the growth and
prosperity of the northern farming states is Henry Swanson, who occupies
a prominent place in public respect. He is a man of impregnable integrity,
of great civic loyalty and unsual force of character. He has given to his
children not only the heritage of a good name, but an example of what is
highest and best in the ideals which make for perfect citizenship. His career
has been one of intense application to hard labor, and the various occupa-
tions in which he has been engaged prove his ability to handle many kinds
of work.
Henry Swanson was born in Sweden on the 5th of February, 1875,
and was the son of Swan Swanson and Inga (Pearson) Swanson, both
natives of Sweden. Both parents are buried in Sweden. The subject of
this sketch received his education in his native land and assisted his parents
until 1893, when he came to this country. After landing in New York he
went to Worcester, Massachusetts, where he obtained employment in a wire
mill. Si.x months later he went to Minneapolis and worked with a grading
crew for .some time. The life on a farm always appealed to Mr. Swanson,
and his first employment of that kind in this country was in the wheat fields
of North Dakota, and later he worked in a lumber camp in the North.
Returning to Minneapolis, he was employed there by the park board until
he received a position with the Great Northern railroad. A few years later
he took a timber claim in the iron country of the North, not far from Duluth
■ — the land at this time could be purchased for something over one dollar
an acre.
The occupation of clearing the land proved to be difficult and required
unceasing toil and perseverance. Owing to the abundance of wild growth
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 547
and brush on the farm very little space could at first be utilized in real culti-
vation. Mr. Swanson was not long in erecting a house and barn, and found
time to cut over eighty rods of road. He was able to sell most of the
timber later and decided to visit his ancestral home and see his parents. He
found much satisfaction in renewing old acquaintances and revisiting old
scenes in Sweden and remained for six months there with relatives.
Nothing could prevail upon Mr. Swanson to remain in his native land,
however, and he returned to America in 1902, where he settled in Morrison
county. In this county he bought forty acres of land from Gus Swanson,
in Swanville township, section 31, range 128, and began at once to clear it
of the timber. The next year he bought eighty acres from the Northern
Pacific railroad. This land adjoined his first purchase. He has continued
the occupation of removing the forest covering from the land and now has
sixteen acres in cultivation, besides forty acres in meadow. A log house
furnished shelter on the place for a few years, but has been replaced by a
thoroughly modern frame residence of two stories and brick veneer. Mr.
Swanson has twenty head of dairy cattle.
On the 6th of July, 1908, Henry Swanson was united in marriage to
Ellen Mary Palm, a native of Morrison county, Minnesota. Three children
have been born to the union, Minnie Victoria, George Roosevelt and Ebba
Viole. Mr. Swanson is an independent voter. Fraternally, he is associated
with Lodge No. 258, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
ALFRED P. SMITH.
Among the farmers of Parker township, Morrison county, Minnesota,
who believe in following twentieth-century methods in conducting the labors
of their farm, is Alfred P. Smith, the respected subject of this sketch. Mr.
Smith may justly claim the title of being a "self-made man" and he has
always been strong for right living, industrious habits, for education and
morality and for all that makes for the best good of the commonwealth.
He also has attained a pleasing degree of material success and is indebted
solely to his own efforts and enterprise for what he has accumulated.
Alfred P. Smith is a native of Sweden, born on October 8, 1855, son
of Gustav and Eva (Passion) Smith, and is one of a family of five children,
all of whom, with the exception of the oldest, have become residents of
the United States. Adolph continues to live in his native land ; John is a
548 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
resident of Tacoma, Washington; August is deceased, and William is a
farmer living near Elgin, Illinois; and Alfred P., the subject of this sketch,
was born in 1812 and passed his entire life in Sweden, where all his active
years were si)ent as a farm laborer. His death occurred in 1894.
Alfred P. Smith attended school in his native land, having to walk a
distance of about seven miles each day, and the earlier years of his manhood
were spent in farm labor. In 1891 he left Sweden and came to this country,
where, in McLean county, Illinois, he secured employment. For about five
years he was engaged in laying tile and digging the ditches which have so
effectively drained that county, and in July of 1896 he came to Little Falls
and purchased forty acres of land in Pike township. He lived on the place
one summer, but never farmed it, as he was employed elsewhere as a
laborer at the time, and so continued until 1901, when he bought his present
farm of sixty acres in section i of Parker township.
This land was all under brush at the time Mr. Smith obtained possession
of it and he set about clearing it for cultivation. He cut a great deal of
cordwood and hauled it to Randall, receiving but seventy-tive cents per
cord for the same. He has now all of his land cleared and his 191 5 crops
comprise about twenty acres in hay, with the rest of his land in corn and
oats. He has a nice herd of graded stock and had a few head every year
prepared for the market. He milks a number of cows, disposing of this
product to the Randall Co-operative Creamery Company, in which he was
the fourth man to become interested and to which he has ever since given
his intelligent support. The log cabin and log barn which he originally
built have since been replaced with a large hay barn holding twenty tons,
and other valuable outbuildings, and a comfortable five-room cottage has
housed the family of later years.
Alfred P. Smith was married before leaving his native land, his mar-
riage taking place in 1885, and his bride being Sarah Nystrom, born on
October 9, 1867. Mrs. Smith accompanied him to this country and very
shortly after he came, his mother came over to join her children, who were
living at that time in Illinois. She came in 1891 and died nine years later,
at the age of seventy-seven, having been born in 1823. Mr. and Mrs. Smith
have a family of nine children, namely: Bird (Mrs. Fick), living in Otter
Tail county, this state; Gustav, deceased; Bertha, of Little Falls; August,
residing at Gregory, this state; Amelia, at Little Falls, and Fred. Mabel.
Albert and Ernest, at home with the parents.
Mr. Smith is one of those responsible men who keenly appreciate the
duties of citizenship, and since first becoming a resident of this county he
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 549
has evinced a most commendable interest in all that pertains to the best
interests of the commonwealth, and any movement calculated to advance the
material, social or moral life of the community finds in him an ardent sup-
porter. In politics, Mr. Smith votes the Republican ticket, and while not a
member of any religious society, he is an attendant upon divine worship.
In every relation of life he has proven himself to be a clean and honorable
man, and as such is justly entitled to the respect and confidence which is
accorded him by his fellow citizens.
JERRY C. NICHOLS.
A representative of one of the honored families of Morrison county,
Minnesota, Jerry C. Nichols has well upheld the prestige of a name that has
been linked with the agricultural life of that state for a period of over forty
years, and has marked by distinctive personal accomplishment a place for
himself among those who have given untiring energy to the betterment of
conditions in his community. A man of unusual ambition and force of
character, he has become widely known throughout his section of the state
for his successful attainments in the field of agriculture.
Jerry C. Nichols was bom in Clinton county, New York, on the 14th
of August, 1855, and is the son of Eli and Lydia (Norton) Nichols. He
is the youngest of nine children, two of whom are now dead, four of the
children are girls. Eli Nichols was born in Connecticut, and when a young
man went to New York, where he started a saw-mill. In 1872 he settled in
southern Minnesota, and took up the occupation of farming. This line of
work, owing to the immense possibilities of the soil in that locality, more
than brought large returns, so that the father of the subject of this sketch
remained on his farm in Blue Earth county until his death, which occurred
in 1880, when he was about seventy-five years old. Lydia Nichols was a
native of Vermont and lived to the advanced age of eighty-seven years, her
death occurring in 1901.
J. C. Nichols was reared on a farm, where the training he received in
the rough school of experience helped him to master the problems encoun-
tered later, in his work on the farm of the North. He came to Morrison
county, Minnesota, in 1902, where he bought one hundred and twenty acres
of land in Clough township, section 13. For two years after his settlement
in this locality he and his family made their home with the Ted fords, near
550 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
neighbors. During this time Mr. Nichols erected a very desirable dwelling
on his farm, and put up a log barn. Because of the almost primeval condi-
tions of the land in this section, it requires not a few years of well-directed
eflforts to put it in the proper condition for fanning. Mr. Nichols has been
most fortunate in his work of clearing the land, and has over thirty acres
yielding immediate returns. His attention is not wholly taken up with the
soil, and in time he hopes to become a breeder of Guernsey cattle, in which
direction he now has a small start.
In Wabasha county, Minnesota, November 30, 1878, Mr. Nichols was
united in marriage to Jennie Blackwood, the daughter of Charles and Eliza
(Black) Blackwood. All of the children born to their union reside in Min-
nesota. Charles, the eldest son, lives in Clough township; Benjamin also
lives in the same township; Mrs. Lydia Northrup resides in Brainerd; Mrs.
Florence Shutter lives in Swanville, and Ross, Mary, John and Susie remain
at home with their parents. One of the children died in infancy.
Politically, Mr. Nichols has favored the principles set forth by the
Prohibition party. His religious views are with the Free Methodists.
PEAR AUGUST HOLMGREN.
Of the immigrants who arrived in .'\nierica to seek their fortunes and
greater liberty, perhaps none have played a more prominent part in the
agricultural life of the country than the immigrants from Sweden. One of
the highest examples of what the Swedes have become in the communities
where they have settled is to be found in Pear August Holmgren, one of the
most successful farmers of Morrison county, Minnesota.
Pear August Holmgren was born in Wermland, Sweden, on the 4lh
of October, 1857. He is the son of Peter Erickson and Matilda (Berg)
Erickson, both natives of Sweden, his father having been born on June 13,
1830, and his mother on March 14, 1832. His parents reared a family of
eight children, two of whom are deceased; of the remaining six children, the
three sisters still make their home in their native land, while the three
brothers live in this country. Peter Erickson died on July 18. 1898, and
his wife passed away on October 29, 1907. They were both laid to rest in
their native land.
Seven years is the extent of the educational training received by Pear
Holmgren in the rural schools of Sweden. When he was nineteen years
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 55 1
old he began to work under a landlord, attending horses. Later, while
employed as a member of the police force in Karlskrona, Sweden, he mar-
ried Anna Peterson. The wedding, which occurred April 2, 1888, was
followed by a most unusual wedding trip, the groom having persuaded his
wife to cross the Atlantic with him and establish their new home in America.
After landing in the United States they were attracted first to Michi-
gan, where Mr. Holmgren began working in the mines at Ishpeming. He
found employment in this locality for eight years, during which time he
worked strenuously in the effort to accumulate enough funds to begin a
more independent life. In 1896 he was able to realize this ambition, when
he came to Morrison county, Minnesota, and bought eighty acres of land in
section 31, in Clough township. Mr. Holmgren cleared and broke up over
forty acres of land and converted it into one of the finest farms in the
county. The difficulties attending such an undertaking seem almost unsur-
mountable, but it remains for the immigrant to show what can actually be
done with the rich soil of the timber lands.
On the farm established by Mr. Holmgren the soil is especially adapt-
able to the growing of oats, and seventeen acres have been set apart for that
purpose. There is also to be found the best quality of corn, covering a field
of eight acres. Seven acres of tame hay. The remainder in wheat and
other farm crops. The entire farm, which extends over one hundred and
twenty acres of land, is improved with a barn of large proportions, measur-
ing thirty-six by eighty feet, and is used exclusively for dairy purposes.
The building has thirty-one windows for ventilation and shelters the finest
of cattle and horses. Aside from this a silo has been built on the place and
gives it a thoroughly modern appearance. The present farm residence is in
marked contrast to the log cabin dwelling which occupied a place on the tract
of land during the time the timber was being cleared by Mr. Holmgren. He
is a shareholder in the creamery at Randall and was treasurer of the same
concern for ten years.
Much of the success which grew out of P. A. Holmgren's first years in
Minnesota is due to his wife, Anna Holmgren, who was born on the 29th of
July, 1865, in Smoland, Sweden. She is the daughter of John P. and Emma
(Strom) Peterson, natives of Sweden. Her parents came to this country
in 1893. For a time they lived in Michigan, then came to Randall, Minne-
sota, where they took up the occupation of farming, working on the place
with their son-in-law, Charles Dalquist. The parents are now living with
their daughter, Mrs. Holmgren, on the farm in Clough township.
552 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Holmgren were born the following
children: Albin E., who is farming in Nebraska; Carl A., a farmer in
Oregon; Judith, who is a public school teacher of Morrison county; Axel,
deceased; and Ruben, John Paul and Herbert, who are living at home, and
Emma, who is deceased.
The prevailing religion of Sweden, Lutheranism, has been transplanted
by the believers to this country, and among its ardent adherents is Mr.
Holmgren. He has found recreation in other lines of activity, and conse-
quently has not affiliated himself with lodges or fraternities. In political
affairs he is linked with the Republican party. That the subject of this
sketch is held in high esteem by those in his community may be seen by the
various offices of public trust which have at various times been bestowed upon
him. .At present he is holding the office of director on the school lioard
of his district.
JOHN KEMPENICH.
Perseverance and sterling worth are almost always sure to win con-
spicuous recognition in all localities. John Kempenich, who has been a
citizen of Parker township, Morrison county, Minnesota, for close on to
twenty years, has long since come to be considered one of the most energetic
and painstaking farmers in this section, which is noted for the high class of
its agricultural work. He has attained a pleasing degree of material success
and what is still more valuable, has won the highest trust and confidence of
the entire community.
John Kempenich is a native of Germany, born on August 7, 1854, son
of John and Katherine (Kempenich) Kempenich, being one of their family
of seven children, but three of whom are living at the present time. Both
parents were also natives of Germany, the father born in 1825, and the
mother in 1838. The father died in his native land in 1884. Throughout
the active years of his life he was a shepherd, being an expert in his line and
in charge of a great many valuable sheep.
Mr. Kempenich was married before coming to this country, his wife
being Barliara Bermel, a daughter of Lawrence and Elizabeth (Raa]))
Bermel, both natives of Germany, who never left the Fatherland and are now
deceased. Mr. Kempenich emigrated to this country in 1883, leaving with
his i)eople his wife and two little children, and located near Minneapolis,
where he secured work as a farm hand, spending four years in all at that
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 553
place. Two years after he came here his wife and family joined him. By
frugal habits of living, they managed to save something out of the four
years' work near Minneapolis, and came to Morrison county, where they
homesteaded a claim of one hundred and sixty acres in section 34 of Clough
township. This land was entirely covered with brush and timber and Mr.
Kempenich set about the difficult task of making it ready for cultivation.
He erected a log cabin and barn, which he later replaced with better build-
ings, and in about twelve years had one hundred and five acres under cultiva-
tion and was progressing nicely. ^ He then scfld out and came to Parker
township, where he bought eighty acres in section i, of Parker township.
This land also was covered with a dense growth and Mr. Kempenich was
again confronted with the task of reclaiming his land from the grasp of the
wilderness. Nothing daunted, he set to work and the first thing he did was
to erect a large house and barn, together with other outbuildings, and within
a comparatively few years he had his entire eighty acres cleared and under
cultivation. His 191 5 crops comprised five acres planted to corn, with the
balance in wheat, oats and pasture and a sufficient amount of hay.
Mr. Kempenich Ips succeeded well, but it has been at the cost of unceas-
ing labor and careful living. He is now able to look forward to si>ending
his latter years in plenty, surrounded by family ties. In addition to his
regular farming, he raises some live stock for the market and milks a number
of cows, turning this product over to the Randall Co-Operative Creamery
Company, in which he is a shareholder. He keeps nothing but excellent
graded stock, and disposes of a number of head each year to the markets.
Mr. Ivempenich is also financially interested in the telephone company and
will always be found to be a warm advocate of any plan which has as its
object the betterment of living conditions in his community.
A few years after the death of his father, Mr. Kempenich's mother
decided to come to the United States and in company with a daughter and
sister, she joined her son and his family at the time they were living in
Clough township. On her own account she homesteaded a tract of forty
acres in section 34, of that township, and continued to make her home with
Mr. Kempenich until the time of her death, which occurred in 1903.
Mr. and Mrs. Kempenich were married in Germany in 1880 and two
of their children were born there. These were Mary (Mrs. Rudash), living
in North Dakota, and Katherine, wife of August Fry, a farmer of Parker
township. The rest of the family of twelve children were born in the state
of Minnesota. Barbara (Mrs. BofTerding) lives in Minneapolis; Elizabeth
(Mrs. Bermel) lives in Randall, this county; Gertrude is the wife of Paul
554 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Jaschke, of Parker township; John and Peter are located in North Dakota;
Joseph is in MinneapoHs and Anton, Mathias, Tahecla and Markus remain
with the parents. This is a fine and promising family and to their proper
rearing both Mr. and Mrs. Kempenich have given the best of their ability.
Mr. Kempenich is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church and
in ix)litics he votes independently. Always deeply interested in whatever
makes for the welfare of his community, he served as road supervisor of
Clough township while a resident there, and under his administration con-
siderable progress was made' in the plan for better roadways. In everything
to which he has given his attention, Mr. Kempenich has given his very best
ability and his success has been but the just reward of honest and well
directed effort.
SETH WARNBERG.
Seth Warnberg, a farmer of Belle Prairie township, Morrison county,
Minnesota, is a man who found that the life of the city was no compensa-
tion for the advantage one must forfeit in exchange for its conveniences.
Seth Warnberg was born on November 6, 1864, in Sweden, and is the son
of Anders and Clara (Nelson) Warnberg, both natives of Sweden. Anders
Warnberg was born in 1809, '" Sweden, remaining there until his death, in
1883. He was twice married and the father of eleven children by these
marriages, Seth Warnberg being a child of the sectjnd union, .\nders
Warnberg was a miner by trade and worked in the mines of his native
country. His wife, Clara (Nelson) Warnberg, was born in 1824, and died
in 1895.
Seth Warnberg left Sweden in 1881 and upon his arrival in America
settled in Chicago, Illinois, where he worked in a sash and door factor^' for
eight months. Dissatisfied with conditions in Chicago, he removed to north-
ern Michigan, where he spent nine years working in the iron mines of that
state, but linally returned to Chicago and accepted a position as teamster
for a coal and feed store, which position he held for four years. Thoroughly
discontented with the result of fourteen years of conscientious endeavor, in
1894 lie purchased one hundred and si.xty acres of lam! in Buena Vista
county, Iowa, which he cultivated and improved until looj. when he dis-
])osed of his holdings there and remfived to Morrison county. Minnesota,
where he again invested in one hundred and sixty acres of unimproved land.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 555
Of this farm, in Belle Prairie township, he has cleared one hundred acres
for cultivation and for the raising and breeding of Holstein cattle.
In 1886 Seth Warnberg was united in marriage to Ida Anderson, and
they became the parents of two children : Eugene, an oil dealer, living in
Englewood, Kansas, and Myrtle, deceased. Ida (Anderson) Warnberg
departed this life in 1893. She was born in 1869, in Sweden. In 1894
Seth Warnberg married the sister of his first wife, Hulda Anderson, and
of this union five children have been born : Myrtle, Roy, Arthur W.,
Dorothy and Ida, all of whom are at home, with the exception of Roy, who
is a student in the business college at Little Falls, Minnesota. Hulda (Ander-
son) Warnberg was born on April 21, 1871, and is the daughter of John P.
and Emma (Peterson) Anderson, who came to Chicago from Sweden in
1872. John P. Anderson was a carpenter by trade, but later engaged in
farming in the state of Iowa. In 1914 he passed away, at the age of seventy-
four years. Emma (Peterson) Anderson is now residing at Linn Grove,
Iowa.
Seth Warnberg is a progressive, self-made man and is vitally interested
in all civic questions for the betterment of his community. He is a stock-
holder in the creamery at Freedhem, Minnesota, also in the local telephone
company. He is a member of the Free church at Freedhem, and in his
political affiliations is identified with the Republican party. He stands high
in the respect and esteem of his fellow men, and is endowed mentally anrl
morally for the position which he holds in the regard of this community.
JOSEPH HOUN.
Joseph Houn, a native of Golden Lake, Wisconsin, born on May 11,
1855, is one of the enterprising and successful farmers in Buckman town-
ship, Morrison county, Minnesota. He is the son of Peter and Helen
(Heinze) Houn.
Mr. Houn's father was born in September. 1827, in Saxony, Germany,
and lived there until after his marriage, when he came to America. After
landing in New York City, he went to Milwaukee and then settled near
Golden Lake, Jefferson county, Wisconsin, where he worked for different
farmers by the month for five or six years. During this period his wife
was also employed in the county. Peter Houn then bought eighty acres of
land in Duck Creek township. Jefferson county, and farmed it for many
556 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
years. He later sold out and purcliased a timljer farm of eighty acres,
which he cleared and where he lived until his death, in 1914, at the age of
eighty-seven years. His wife was born, reared and married in Germany.
She came to the United States with her husband and, for five years, with
him worked out at anything she could lind to do. She was the mother of
seven children, of whom three died early in life. Those who grew to matur-
ity were William, Mrs. Perlina Tratner, Airs. Mary S. Rieper, and Joseph,
the subject of this sketch.
In 1864 Peter Houn enlisted in Company D, Forty-sixth Regiment,
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war, receiv-
ing an honorable discharge. The Houn family are members of the Catholic
church. Peter Houn was a Democrat and a man keenly interested in educa-
tion. He served several years as school treasurer.
Joseph Houn was educated in Monroe county, Wisconsin, in the dis-
trict schools, and, after finishing his education, assisted his father on the
farm until twenty-three years old, when he moved to Farmington, Minne-
sota, and assisted in the harvest. He then visited Morrison county, Minne-
sota, and finally filed on one hundred and sixty acres of land. He gave up
the homestead a little later, returning to the harvest field. The next year
he bought eighty acres in Buckman township, paying three dollars an
acre for the land. He then returned to Wisconsin and in 1879 was married
to Anna Andreas. With his bride he came back to Buckman township and
settled down to life on a farm. Some years ago he added eighty acres to
his original purchase in this township. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Houn have
been the parents of five children, Peter, Wincel, Fred (deceased), Frank
and Isal)el.
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Houn are members of the Catholic church in
Buckman. A Democrat in politics, Mr. Houn was elected treasurer of his
local schoob district in 1889 and served until 191 1. During this period, he
was treasurer for two districts, Nos. 21 and 115. For nine vears he ser\cd
as supervisor.
Peter Hoim, the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Houn, was born on
February 2, 1880, in Morrison county, Minnesota, and was educated in the
Morrison county district schools. He lived at home with his parents until
thirty years old and was then married to lulith Britz, who was bom in
September, 1887, in Illinois, .\ftcr his marriage, Peter Houn opened a
general store in what was then called Dixville, which lies just a little imrth
of the present site of Little Rock. He also opened a blacksmith shop, but
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 557
after two years, moved his store and shop to Little Rock. In the meantime
his business has grown. He owns the site of his store and also the site upon
which his blacksmith shop stands. Several years ago, while he was still
living at home, he operated a threshing outfit for eight years and, after his
marriage, sold out. Mr. and Mrs. Peter Houn are members of the Catholic
church at Buckman. Mr. Houn is independent in politics.
JOHN A. THELANDER.
The best title one can establish to the high and generous esteem of an
intelligent community -is a protracted and honorable residence therein. John
A. Thelander, one of the best-known citizens of Darling township, is respected
not only for the honorable manner in which he has conducted his private
business interests, but his name has gained an added lustre by reason of
those public services which he has rendered his community and the oppor-
tunities for advancement in various lines which he has placed before his
fellow citizens. He is at the present time the efficient treasurer of Darling
township and clerk of the school board of district No. 35. 'He is an active
member of the Farmers' Club, taking a keen and intelligent interest in the
experiments and deliberations of that body. He is also treasurer of the
Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company, of Little Falls, Minnesota, and was
the original promoter of that company. Mr. Thelander is a man who is
possessed of business ability and foresight and this coupled with his untiring
energy has placed him in the front rank of his county's citizens.
John A. Thelander, farmer and stockman of Darling township, Mor-
rison county, is a native of Sweden, born on August 19, 1864, a son of
Perry Anderson and Ella (Swanson) Anderson, both of whom passed their
entire lives in their native land. The father was born in 1825, and died m
1897, having been a farmer all his life, while the mother, who was born
also in 1825, died in 1880.
John A. Thelander is the fifth child in a famil)- of six children, three
of whom are now deceased. Christena, the eldest, wife of J. Adamson, is
deceased, as are also Swan and Swan M., the latter having lived for a time
in Montana. Peter O. has never left his native land and still resides in
Sweden, while Gust, the youngest of the family, lives in Benton county, this
state.
John A. Thelander attended the schools of his native land and by the
558 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
time he came to years of manhood was well versed in farm work. He hired
out as a farm hand until 1886 when he decided to emigrate to the United
States and try his fortune in this land. He came directly to this state,
locating with others from his county at St. Peter and the first work he
secured was with a railroad, where he remained four months. Not liking
that class of work, he went to Minneapolis, where he became apprenticed to
the carpenter's trade, which he mastered and remained in Minneapolis about
five years employed in that manner. By that time he had decided that a
farm was the best place for his efforts and abilities, and in 1892 he came
to Darling township and bought eighty acres of land in section 33. All this
was covered with brush and timber and he set about the arduous task of
preparing it for cultivation. He now owns one hundred and sixty acres
and has ninety acres under cultivation. He has a substantial residence,
barns, etc., which stand in the middle of the first eighty-acre tract which he
owned. In addition to his farming, Mr. Thelander gives particular atten-
tion to the raising of live stock, favoring the Guernsey breed of cattle and
having at the present time thirty-five head. These he raises to sell as dairy
cows. Mr. Thelander pursues no haphazard methods in his farming, but is
most thorough and systematic in whatever he undertakes.
He is a faithful member of the Swedish Lutheran church and was the
organizer of the local society. There was no organization of that denomina-
tion in his community, and in 1893 he was instrumental in collecting the
members of that faith and organizing them into a church society. The
church building is located in section 34, Darling township, and at the present
time Mr. Thelander is serving as trustee. Mr. Thelander is a Republican,
although devoting but little attention to politics.
On April i, 1888, John A. Thelander was united in marriage to Ida
Olson, born in Sweden on February 12, 1866, a daughter of Olaf Johnson
and Ellna Olson, both of whom passed their entire lives in their native land.
Mrs. Thelander came to this country in 1887, and settled in Minneapolis,
having Ijeen well educated in her girlhood home. To subject and wife have
been born ten children, namely: Anna C, deceased; Amelia, wife of J. O.
Johnson, living in section 14, Darling township; Gust William, in section
33, of this township; Otto P., a carpenter, who resides at home; Hulda, a
graduate of the Little Falls schools and a teacher at the present time, resid-
ing at home, as do also Eric, Adol])h, Hugo, Hilding and Sigrid.
Mr. Thelander has so ordered his life that he is in every sense worthy
of the high regard in which he is held by his fellow citizens. His strict
integrity and unpretending bearing have been appreciated and his influence
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 559
is well known to have a most elevating effect, socially, morally and educa-
tionally, upon those about him. Because of his successful career and his
high personal character, he is eminently entitled to representation among
the leading men of his county.
LESLIE A. GROOVER.
It is next to impossible to estimate the influence of a newspaper in a
community and likewise difficult to estimate the personal influence of the
newspaper editor and publisher. This influence depends somewhat upon
native ability, upon a thorough understanding of social and political prob-
lems and finally upon individual sympathies for these various problems.
Leslie A. Groover, a successful young resident of Hewitt, Todd county,
Minnesota, who is now the editor and publisher of the Hewitt Banner, is a
self-made man and, although not a native of this state, is a product of the
great West, which has produced so many sterling citizens within the past
half century.
Leslie A. Groover was born at Fort Grant, Arizona, July 30, 1892, and
is the son of Charles C. and Selma (Sandberg) Groover.
Educated in the public schools of Clinton, Minnesota, and in the high
school at Clinton, from which, however, he did not graduate, since he had
an opportunity to learn the printer's trade, Mr. Groover worked for the
Clinton Advocate as an apprentice for six months and then went to Orton-
ville. Big Stone county, Minnesota, where he accepted a position as second
man in the office of the Ortoninllc Journal. After holding this position
for two years, he was promoted to the position of foreman of the plant and
held that position for one year. Mr. Groover then went to Long Prairie,
Minnesota, where he accepted the position of foreman of the Todd County
Argus, owned by A. L. and M. C. Sheets at that time, and later by A. E.
Roese. After having remained in the employ of those parties for four years,
until November, 1914. Mr. Groover moved to Osakis, Minnesota, where he
accepted a position as foreman of the Osakis Review, holding this position
until May, 19x5.
In May, 191 5, Mr. Groover returned to Long Prairie and, in partner-
ship with A. L. Sheets, engaged in the job printing business. This business
was sold to Mr. Sheets on July i, 1915, and Mr. Groover came to Hewitt.
Todd county, Minnesota, and purchased the Heiritt Banner from V. E.
560 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Joslin. Mr. Groover is now the editor and publisher of this paper, which
has a most satisfactory circulation in this part of Todd county. It is his
first experience as editor of a paper, but he is a bright, clean-cut young man
of excellent habits and of splendid business ability and is bound to make
a success of any enterprise to which he might turn his hand.
Leslie A. Groover was married on September 9, 19 15, to Mary Hennek,
of Long Prairie, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Hennek, of that place.
Politically, Leslie A. Groover is wholly unprejudiced and is, therefore,
the better equipped as a newspaper publisher and proprietor. He is an inde-
pendent voter. Mr. Groover is a member of the Catholic church and devout
in this faith.
NICHOLAS J. HENNEN.
Those men who faced every danger and death itself on the battlefields
of the Civil War and who bore the suffering and made the sacrifices for
their country's sake especially deser\'e mention in these annals. The younger
generation should never forget that to them is due a debt of gratitude that
can never be repaid, since the prosperity, liberty and happiness we now
enjoy are the outcome of their labor and loyalty. Among the honored vet-
erans of Morrison county, Minnesota, is the venerable Nicholas J. Hennen,
who, in less than ten years after his arrival in America, was fighting val-
iantly for the cause of liberty in his adopted countrj^
Nicholas J. Hennen was bom in Prussia on July 4, 1844, and is the
son of Peter J. and Margaret Hennen, natives of Prussia. Peter J. Hen-
nen brought his family to America in 1852, and after landing in New York
City the family emigrated to Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, where they
purchased one hundred and twenty acres of wild land. There they built a
house and began improving the land, doing general farming in t];e mean-
time. Peter J. Hennen died in 1868, and his beloved wife in 1874. They
were members of the Catholic church. Peter J. Hennen voted the Demo-
cratic ticket. His wife bore him six children, John, Mathias J., Nicholas,
Nicholas J., Joseph and Mathias.
Nicholas J. Hennen was seven years old when the Hennen family
came to America. He received an elementary education in the public schools
of Wisconsin and lived with his parents in Fond du Lac county until fifteen
years old. He then emigrated to northern Michigan, where he worked in
the co])per mines for three years.
XICnOT.AS J. IIENXEN
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 561
On August 15, 1862, Mr. Hennen enlisted in Company I, Twenty-third
Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry, serving two years, seven months
and two days under General Rosecrans and General Sherman. The regi-
ment left Saginaw, Michigan, on September i8, 1862, for Kentucky. Dur-
ing the following winter it was stationed at Bowling Green, Kentucky, and
other points. The regiment saw no actual fighting, however, until the fol-
lowing summer after which Mr. Hennen was engaged in the follow-
ing battles and skirmishes; Paris, Kentucky, July 29, 1863; HufT's
Ferry, Tennessee, November 12, 1863; Cambells Station, Tennessee,
November 16, 1863; the siege of Knoxville, Tennessee, November 17 to
December 5, 1863; Dandridge, Tennessee, January 14, 1864; Strawberry
Plain, Tennessee, January 22, 1864; Rocky Face, Georgia, May 8, 1864;
Resaca, Georgia, May 14, 1864; Etowah, Georgia, May 22, 1864; Dallas,
Georgia, June 17, 1864; Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia, June 27, 1864; Chat-
tahooche River, Georgia, July 5 and 6, 1864; the siege of Atlanta, July 22
to August 25, 1864; Lovejoys Station, Georgia, August 31, 1864; Colum-
bia, Tennessee, November 25, 1864; Duck River, Tennessee, November 28,
1864; Spring Hill, Tennessee, November 29, 1864; Nashville, Tennessee,
December 12, 1864.
During his services Mr. Hennen contracted an abscess on the lungs as
consequence to exposure shortly before the battle of Nashville and after
that was confined to the hospital until shortly before his discharge, on
March 17, 1865.
After the close of the Civil War, Nicholas J. Hennen returned to
Michigan to work in the copper mines. About this time he was married to
Anna Gross. He remained in Michigan for about two years and then moved
to Steams county, Minnesota, purchasing one hundred and twenty acres of
wild land. There he built a log shanty and started housekeeping. He
gradually improved the place and lived upon it for thirteen years, raising
wheat, corn, oats, etc. At the end of thirteen years, Mr. Hennen sold out
and moved to Pierz, where he started a saloon, which he operated for
eleven years. He then removed to Little Falls and operated a saloon for one
year. Finally he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in sections
17 and 18 in Pierz town.ship. During his residence there he improved the
house and the farm generally. In 1897 he was appointed postmaster of
Pierz, but continued to live on the farm until March, 1915, when he moved
to Pierz. He kept the postoffice in the store of P. A. Hartmann, his son-in-
law. During this period Mr. Hennen's son operated the home farm.
(36)
562 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Nicholas J. Hennen has been twice married. His first wife, Anna
Gross, was a native of Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, born in 1847. She
died in 1873, having borne four children, one of whom, Anna, died early in
life. The surviving children were Joseph J., Kathrine, w^ife of F. W.
Kettler, and Mathias. Mr. Hennen was married, secondly, to Mary Maery,
a native of Wisconsin, born in 1847, and who died in 1891. Eight children
were born to this second marriage. Margaret, Henry, Theresia, Elizabeth,
Frances, John, Anna, and Lena, who died in infancy.
Mr. Hennen is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic at Little
Falls. He is a Republican in politics, and aside from serving as postmaster
of Pierz for seventeen years he was chairman of the town board for three
years and assessor for one year. He also was census enumerator in this
township. He and his family are members of the Catholic church.
CARL W. RUNQUIST.
One of the enterprising agriculturists of Elmdale township, Morrison
county, Minnesota, is the respected subject of this sketch, owner and pro-
prietor of the "Natural Grove Farm," one of the most up-to-date farms of
that section. This farm contains one hundred and twenty acres, si.xty-five
of which are under the plow and the balance is given over to grazing. Mr.
Runquist conducts his farm business along modern, scientific lines and in
addition to general farming, he raises a number of cattle each year to sell.
The season of 191 5 finds him with twenty-four head in addition to six hogs
and four head of horses which are required to do the work of the farm.
That Mr. Runquist has prospered along material lines is due to the fact that
he possesses an unfailing amount of energy and good judgment and is
actuated by right principles in his dealings with his fellow men.
Carl W. Run(|uist is a native of Sweden, born on Sei)teml)er 19, 1854.
son of Carl G. Runquist, born in 1830, and Maria Christina Runquist, bom
in 1825. The parents never left their native land, the mother passing away
in 1898, at the age of seventy-three years, and the father in looj, wlien
seventy-two years old. He had been a soldier for many years and iiis
interests never took him away from the land of his birth.
Carl W. Runquist is the .second child in a family of nine and wlien a
boy did not have the advantage of a good education, his schooling being
limited to six indiitlis' attendance in the cnmmon schools near his home, llis
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 563
help was needed on the home farm, and from the time he was a very small
boy he assisted the father in the work, continuing under the paternal roof
until twenty-iive years of age. He left home to take up his life in the land
of America and after landing in New York, went directly to Wisconsin,
where there were many people of his nationality. The first three months
of his residence in that state he spent in the mines, and in 1880 he went to
Royalton, Minnesota, where he secured work on a section gang under Ole
Black, with whom he remained for three years. After leaving Ole Black
he was employed for three months on the Northern Pacific railroad in like
capacity, and in the fall of 1884 he went into the woods to- pass the winter.
After the season's work was over, he went in the spring of 1885 to Elmdale
township, Morrison county, where he purchased a tract of one hundred and
twenty acres in section 10 and proceeded to live there alone for the three
following years.
On April 18, 1889, Carl W. Runquist was united in marriage with
Martha Christina Larson, a young widow. She was a native of Fodslette,
Denmark, and when quite young came with her family to America, locating
in Elmdale township, where she grew to womanhood. Her first husband
was Louis Johnson, by whom she became the mother of five children, namely:
Anna Maria, Johanna Matilda, Louis Peter, Emma Christina and Gustav
Adolph. Mrs. Runquist's first husband had left her one hundred and twenty
acres of land, but seven of which were under cultivation, and under Mr.
Runquist's management their combined farms thrived and prospered. He
has sold part of their holdings, until the farm now contains one hundred and
twenty acres and every acre of ground, as well as the residence and other
buildings, attest the excellent business ability of the owner. Mr. and Mrs.
Runquist are the parents of ten children, namely: Ida Sophia and Hulda
Victoria, twins ; Hielma Henrietta, Elen Henrietta, Agnes Elvira, Myrtle
Wilhelmina, Carl Nonnan, Edle Josephina, Lester and Lila, twins.
Mr. Runquist and his family are members of the Swedish Mission
church at Upsala. He has been a director of that society for a number of
years, and one of its most valued members. Politically, he supports the
Republican party and has given service as a member of the board of town-
ship supervisors for the past nine years. Also for seventeen years he has
been a member of the school board of district No. 61, of Elmdale township,
and in the discharge of these various duties he has displayed excellent judg-
ment and an earnest desire to advance the welfare of his community. Mr.
Runquist is one of the members of the Elmdale Stock Shippers' Association
564 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
and is interested in other enterprises calculated to develop community life
to the highest and best. Mr. Runquist is known to be honest and upright
in all his dealings, thoroughly reliable in every particular, and is, therefore,
to be classed amongst the worthy citizens of the country where he has chosen
to make his permanent home.
JOHN A. ANDWOOD.
To write the record of men who have raised themselves frorn humble
circumstances to a position of responsibility and trust in a community is no
ordinary pleasure. Self-made men who have achieved success by reason
of their personal qualities and have left their impress upon the business and
growth of their communities have, all unwittingly, built for themselves
monuments more lasting than any shaft of marble or granite could possibly
be. One of the good citizens of Morrison county, Minnesota, is John A.
Andwood, a farmer in Elmdale township, who is fully entitled to claim all
the honor suggested in the foregoing.
John A. Andwood is* a native of Sweden, born near the city of Stock-
holm, on August 29, 1858, son of Andrew Erickson and Christena (Ander-
son) Erickson. There were twelve children in the family, John A. being the
fifth in order of birth, and neither parent ever came to this country. Andrew
was a laborer all his life, an honest and upright man, who wished for his
children all possible advantages and greatly enjoyed the prosperity which
came to such of them as emigrated to the United States.
Mr. Andwood attended the common schools near his home when a lad
and the years of his youth and young manhood were spent in farm labor
until the time of his coming to America. He was twenty-three years of age
when he left his home for the land of promise and touched this country first
at the port of New York. From there he went to the northern portion of
Michigan and for the following two years was employed in the iron mines.
His next move was to St. Paul, where he was for four years employed by
the city water company. He returned to the mining section of Michigan
where he spent the following two years. He again sought employment with
the city water company of St. Paul and remained with them until 1897,
when he came to Morrison county and bought forty acres of land in Elmdale
township, adjoining a purchase of like acreage which he had made some
time previously. He brought his liridc with him and they made their home
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 565
in a log house which was already erected on the land and the first thing Mr.
Andwood did was to build a log barn. He then began clearing his ground,
and soon was able to get in a few small crops. In 1905 Mr. Andwood pur-
chased another tract of forty acres, located in section 33, of Shanville town-
ship. He devotes a goodly portion of his land to the care of his stock,
having in the season of 1915 about forty head which he is feeding for the
market and in addition keeps six head of horse and nine hogs.
Just before leaving St. Paul for this county, on May i, 1897, John A.
Andwood was united in marriage with Sophia Anderson, born in Sweden on
February 17, 1865. She came to this country alone and secured employ-
ment in St. Paul, where she remained until the time of her marriage. To
Mr. and Mrs. Andwood was born a family of six children, all of whom died
in early infancy and to fill the empty place in their hearts, these good people
have taken three children, who were alone in the world, to rear as their own.
The eldest of these is Victor Johnson, who came into Mr. Andwood's home
when he was eight years of age. He was born on January 4, 1891, at
Upsala, Elmdale township, this county, and has made pleasing returns for
the care given him in childhood. In 19 13 he purchased eighty acres of
land, which he is farming in a most creditable manner and gives every evi-
dence of taking his place in later years among the leading farmers of this
county. Two girls were also received into the Andwood home. These are
Anna and Alice Bring, both natives of Sweden, the former born in 1897
and the latter in 1901.
Mr. Andwood has prospered since coming here. His land is very
largely under cultivation, his home and buildings are in good repair and all
are most complimentary to the industry and thrift of the owner. Mr. And-
wood is a stockholder in the creamery, the Elmdale Fire Insurance Company
and besides these local interests, he holds stock in the Independent Harvester
Company of Illinois and the Luce railroad. Mr. Andwood approves of
twentieth-century methods of farming, and his work is managed along that
line. He has installed a gas engine which pumps the water for his stock,
operates the family washing machine, the cream separator and performs
many other tasks in a most gratifying, labor-saving manner. Mr. Andwood
has practically discarded the use of his horses for conveying him about the
country, and drives and greatly enjoys, his Maxwell automobile. All con-
sidered, he is a thoroughly active and up-to-date man and inasmuch as his
influence has always been cast on the side of right and his conduct has been
entirely above reproach, he has won and retains the unbounded respect of all
who know him.
566 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
JOHN SCHMOLKE.
Prosperity can never quite measure, much less repay, what it owes to
the pioneers of a community. John Schmolke, a well-known citizen of
Buckman, Morrison county Minnesota, is a pioneer builder of this section.
No man has done so much as he to replace the scrub cattle common in this
section a generation ago with the splendid dairy breed, which are now found
on most farms. Few men have done so much as he to transform this wild
prairie land into fertile farms, inhabited by happy, contented people.
John Schmolke was born in Germany on May 23, 1861, the son of
Jacob and Catherine Schmolke, both of whom lived in Germany until they
came to America in 1885, after which they lived with their son, John, the
subject of this sketch. Jacob Schmolke was a shoemaker by trade and fol-
lowed this trade until his retirement. He is still living in this county. To
Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Schmolke were born ten children, of whom live died
early in life. John was the second born. The mother of these chililren died
on October 2, 1910, at the age of seventy-two years.
Reared and educated in Germany, John Schmolke learned the shoe-
maker's trade, which he followed in his native land for eight years. When
he was twenty-two years old, he came to America, two years before his par-
ents came. After landing at New York city with only one German penny,
one-quarter of a cent in American money, he did a few odd jobs and then
went to Little Falls, New York, where he learned to milk cows, never hav-
ing seen a cow milked before. At Little Falls, he also learned to speak all
the English he now knows. After remaining at Little Falls for three
months, Mr. Schmolke had made enough money to come to Morrison county,
Minnesota, and, after arriving here, he .settled in Ruckman township. He
arrived in the village of Buckman on September 29, 1883, on St. Michael's
Day, and, while the people were having a ])icnic, he spent the last penny he
had at this picnic. He then went to work for a thresherman, working twenty
days and making twenty dollars. With the twenty dollars, he went to Little
Falls, Minnesota, and purchased leather. He returned to Buckman and,
(luring the winter, went from house to house mending shoes. He cleared
one hundred dollars during the winter, and witli this money ])urchased a
house and one-half acre of land in the following spring for one hundred
and twenty dollars. Mr. Schmolke then went into the grocery business with
Joe Hortsch, Mr. Schmolke furnishing the store room and his partner the
stock of goods. It was the lirst store in Huoknian. After operating the
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 567
Store for one year, Mr. Schmolke purchased his partner's interest and oper-
ated the store by himself.
In 1885 John Schmolke was married to Hedwig Peschel, the daughter
of John and Mary Peschel. One year after his marriage, Mr. Schmolke
established a small hotel. He then sent free passage to his brother, Charles,
that he might come to America and soon after this he brought his parents
and all of the family to America, helping them to get started. All of the
members of the family are now well situated.
Some years ago, Mr. Schmolke began to deal in farm lands. To assist
in opening the country he became the agent for cattle buyers and assisted in
getting the cattle out of this section. In order to get rid of so many scrub
cattle, he induced the butchers to ship and kill them. He has built five
creameries and cream stations in this locality to establish a market for the
cream. They are located at Buckman, Ramey, Lastrop, Agram and New
Pierz.
Today, after a little more than thirty years in America, John Schmolke
is what might be called a land baron. He owns several thousand acres, most
of which is in Canada. In Morrison county he owns about fifteen hundred
acres.
ANDREW RYDHOLM.
Andrew Rydholm, a farmer of Elmdale township, Morrison county,
Minnesota, is among the leading agriculturists of his section and a man of
many sterling qualities. Mr. Rydholm is a native of Sweden and when
a young man came to this country and began carving a career for himself
among new friends and new conditions of living. That he has attained a
pleasing degree of material success is not surprising, for he possesses much
native shrewdness and industry and this coupled with honorable principles
has won for him material success and at the same time brought him many
friends of the highest order.
Andrew Rydholm was born on June 9, 1862, near the city of Lindcop-
ing, in Sweden, being the third child in a family of ten, and the eldest of
the family living at the present time. His father is Axel Rydholm, bom
on February 2. 1834, and still living in New York city, at the advanced age
of eightv-one years. He has been a tailor all his life and still does some
work along that line. Andrew's mother, Sophia Rydholm, is also living.
She was born on December 12, 1834, and is, therefore, also eighty-one years
568 MORRISON" AXD TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
of age. Both parents are in excellent health and perform many active duties
about the home not always possible to persons of their age. Mr. Rydholm's
parents came to this coimtry in 1896, at which time all their children were
located in America.
Andrew Rydholm received his education in his native land, attending
its common schools and after completing his studies he was apprenticed to
the blacksmith's trade. However, he did not work at that trade long enough
to master it and when but seventeen years of age, he started out to trj- his
fortune in America. He landed in New York cit>- on May 12, 1880, and
came directly into the West. For a short time he was in Minneapolis and
his first summer here was spent on the St. Paid and Milwaukee railroad.
^^'hen winter approached, he went to Center Citj^ and secm-ed work for the
coming winter on a farm in that vicinity. In the spring of 1881 he again
took up his residence in Minneapolis and at that time worked as apprentice
to the brick-laying trade. He mastered that trade and continued to be thus
employed until 1893 ^vhen he decided to give the rest of the active years of
his life to farming.
By that time Mr. Rydholm had accimiiJated some money and he pur-
chased an eight}--acre tract of wild land in Elmdale township, Morrison
count}-, where he has since made his home. He has his 'land almost entirely
cleared and under cultivation and in 1910 purchased twenty- additional acres
of hay land in section 16, of Elmdale township, his residence being located
in section 9. Mr. Rydholm devotes his energies to general farming and as
a side line raises dairj- cows. He has a good strain of Holstein cattle and
in the stmimer of 191 5 had nineteen head in addition to six pigs and three
head of horses. Mr. Rydholm conducts his farming along scientific lines
and is uniformly successful in his imdertakings. His home and other build-
ings are in good repair and the appearance of the entire homestead speaks
well for its owner. In addition to his home interests, Mr. Rydholm is a
stockholder in the Farmers' Co-operative Creamery Association of Upsala
and a member of the Elmdale Stock Shippers' Association.
Mrs. Rydholm before her marriage was Sophia Xelson, bom in Sweden
on October 4, 1865. She received her education in her childhood home and
in 1882 set out alone for America. She went directly to the citj' of Minne-
apolis, where she had friends and where she secured emplo\Tnent. She con-
tinued to reside in that city imtil the time of her marriage in 1885. To Mr.
and Mrs. Rydholm have been bom a family of nine children, one of whom
died at the age of two years. The others are: Henr>', Teckla, Herbert,
Casper, Julia. Edith, .\r\id and Ada.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 569
Mr. Rvdholm. together with his family, holds his reUgious membership
in the Swedish ^Mission church and is one of the faithful supporters of the
local societ}-. He has ser%-ed as church treasurer for a number of years and
still assumes that responsibility. In politics he votes independently. He
takes an active interest in the affairs of the communit}% particularly tliose
pertaining to education and for the past six years has been school treasurer
of district Xo. loi. He was first elected to that position in 190S. was
re-elected in 191 1 and again in 1914. In March of 1910 he was elected
chairman of tlie township board of supervisors for Elmdale township and
received the re-election in 1913. Mr. Rydholm performs the duties thus
devolving upon him in a manner most satisfactory- to all concerned, being
both efficient and of unquestioned integrity. Mr. Rydholm is a man of
many excellent traits who not only gives tlie best of attention to his private
affairs, but who also realizes his duties as a citizen of the commonwealth
and gladly performs his part for the general well-being of the communirv".
GEORGE M. RIEDXER.
Prominent in tlie affairs of Belle ^'iew township. Morrison county,
Minnesota, a citizen whose influence extends beyond tlie limits of Belle \'iew
township, tlie name of George M. Riedner is well known among the farmers
and stockmen of tliis community. His imdertakings have been actuated by
the noblest motives and characterized by breadtli of wisdom, initiative and
good business management. His success is merely the result of using tlie
talents with which he is endowed.
George M. Riedner was bom on September 30. 1S62, in Bristol. Dane
county, Wisconsin, the son of Michael and Margareth (Holtzman) Riedner.
Michael Riedner was bom in 1S30. in Bavaria, Germany, and came to
America witli his parents when tliirteen years old. They landed in Xew
York cit)' and then moved to Dane county, Wisconsin, where they purchased
eighty acres of land for one hundred dollars. This tract was partly under
cultivation. Michael Riedner was educated partly in Gennany and partly
in Dane county. W^isconsin. He lived with his parents until the death of his
father, in 1S91, and then took over the home farm. A little later, he sold
the farm and moved to the eastern part of Faribault county, Minnesota,
where he lived for eight years. In the spring of 1899. he removed to Bird
Island, Renville county. Minnesota, and purchased eighty acres of land. He
57° MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
farmed there for two years and then moved to a farm near St. Paul and
finally to San Diego, California, where he remained one year on account of
his wife's health. Upon returning, Michael Riedner settled in Stevens
county, Minnesota, where he still lives. His wife was born in Bavaria, Ger-
many, in 1836, and, when seven years old, came to America with her par-
ents. They also settled in Dane county, Wisconsin, where they purchased
eighty acres of land, and where Mrs. Riedner lived until her marriage. She
has borne her husband eight children, all of whom are living; Mary married
John Batz; Caroline married Joe Englerch; George M. is the subject of this
sketch; Matilda; Henry A.; John; Josephine, who married Frank Doyle;
and .Albert F. Michael Riedner and wife are members of the Catholic
church. He votes the Democratic ticket.
Until he was twelve years old, George M. Riedner attended the parochial
school in his home neighborhood, Dane county, Wisconsin. Afterward, he
attended the public schools for two years and then went to work on the farm
with his father. He remained on the farm until reaching his majority. At
the age of twenty-one, Mr. Riedner went to Sargent county, North Dakota,
took a claim of one hundred and sixty acres, proved up and lived there four
years. Upon leaving the claim, he moved to Easton, Faribault county,
Minnesota, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land.
On December 17, 1889, George M. Riedner was married to Helena
Linder, a native of Columbiana count}-, Wisconsin, who came with her par-
ents to Faribault county, Minnesota, when three years old. There she was
educated and li\ed until her marriage. She has borne her husJiand four chil-
dren, iLlenora, Julia, William and Elsie, all of whom live at home. Mrs.
Riedner is the daughter of Jacob and Mary Ann (Damni) Linder, the former
of whom was born in Bavaria, Germany. Mrs. Ricdner's mother is a native
of Wisconsin.
AUiut i8(;8 Mr. Riedner purchased some {\\n hundred acres of land
near Bird Island, in Renville county, Minnesota, upon which he lived until
1906, when he sold out and purchased two hundred acres of land in Mor-
rison county, Minnesota. In 1913, he sold his first Morrison county farm
and purchased one hundred and forty-five acres in Belle View township,
Morrison county. In the spring of 1914 he added one hundred and sixty
acres and now owns altogether three hundred and five acres.
Mr. Riedner has a magnificent farm. He is a man of cxieilent repu-
tation in the community where he lives and is known far and wide as a good
farmer. His children are all well educated, having had the vcrv best educa-
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 57 1
tional advantages. Mr. Riedner served as supervisor of Barbara township,
Faribault county, for a few years, and also as assessor for two terms. Later
he served as assessor in Renville county, and also as township clerk for two
terms. He has served as assessor of Belle View township for one term,
and as school trustee of independent district No. 40, Royalton, a position
which he has held for five years. Above everything else, Mr. Riedner is a
farmer. He is interested in both hogs and cattle. He is both a stockholder
and director of the Royalton Co-operative Creamery Company.
The Riedner family are all members of the Catholic church at Royal-
ton. Mr. Riedner is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen
of Minnesota as well as the grand lodge. He is a past master workman.
In the Catholic Order of Foresters he is a past chief ranger.
JONES PALM.
Among the well-known business men of Eagle Bend, Todd county,
Minnesota, is Jones Palm, the manager of the Eagle Bend Implement Com-
pany, of Eagle Bend.
Jones Palm was born on March 18, 1878, in Sweden, and is the son
of John and Bertha Palm, who were natives of Sweden. The former was a
farmer in his native land and served a term in the army. He came to
America in 1881, and after landing in New York city traveled to Otter Tail
county, Minnesota, where he purchased a homestead right from a Mr.
Torgerson, comprising one hundred and sixty acres of wild land, a part of
which was covered with timber. There was a log cabin on the farm. Dur-
ing the first year he was unable to raise a crop and the next year was able to
plant only ten acres of wheat. He is now living on the same farm and has
about eighty acres under cultivation. He became a naturalized American
citizen many years ago. His log house was replaced by another log house
and the second log house, subsequently, by a frame house, in which Mr. and
Mrs. Palm are now living. They are not only engaged in general farming,
but operate a dairy. Mr. and Mrs. John Palm were the parents of four
children, John, Jr.. Die, Jones and Erick. Of these children, John, Jr., lives
near Sisseton, South Dakota, where he is engaged in farming. His wife is
Mary Palm and they have several children. Ole, who also lives near Sisse-
ton, is married and has several children. Erick lives with his parents and
manages the old homestead farm.
572 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Jones Palm came to America with his parents, and received his educa-
tion in Otter Tail county". He also attended the high school at Evansville,
Minnesota, for two years and then was a student at the academy at Glen-
wood, Minnesota, graduating in the spring of 1900. Afterward, Mr. Palm
taught school for three or four years.
Mr. Palm was married and was afterward employed by his father-in-
law, A. G. Johnson, in a general store at Melby, Minnesota. After working
for Mr. Johnson for five or six years, Mr. Palm was employed by the Inter-
national Harvester Company as a traveling salesman and worked for them
for two years. He moved to Eagle Bend in the spring of 1910 and took
full charge of the Eagle Bend Implement Company as general manager, a
position which he now holds.
The Eagle Bend Implement Company, which is incorporated under the
laws of the state of Minnesota, was started in connection with the bank of
Eagle Bend. The first stock was very small and incomplete. It was oper-
ated in connection with the bank until the bank was incorporated as a
national bank. In February, 1898, a separate stock company was formed
and the implement business incorporated as the Eagle Bend Implement Com-
pany with a capital of twenty-five thousand dollars. The first manager was
W. A. Sleeper, who had charge a short time, when William Rodman suc-
ceeded him. Mr. Rodman was succeeded by Mr. Palm. The company now
handles a complete line of lumber, building material, farm machinery, bug-
gies, wagons, harness, coal and wood. The company is agent for the Ford
automobile, the John Deere and International Harvester Companies' farm
implements and the De Laval cream separator.
lones Palm was married on October 26, 1901, to Eleonora Johnson,
who was born in Douglas county, Minnesota, August 30, 1883, and who is
the daughter of A. G. and Sigrid Johnson, the former of whom was born in
Sweden. Mrs. Sigrid Johnson was born in Norway. They were pioneers
in Douglas county, Minnesota, and were fanners in their earlier days. Later
they engaged in the mercantile business at Melby, Minnesota, and Mr. John-
son is still actively engaged in this business. Mrs. Johnson died a few years
ago, at the age of forty-five years. They were the parents of ten children,
two of whom are living at Eagle Bend, Joseph and Eleonora, now Mrs.
Palm. Joseph is employed by Mr. Palm in the implement business. Mrs.
Palm received her education in Douglas county and made her home with her
parents until htr marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Palm have four children, Hugo,
Evelina, Eidora and Howard.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 573
Mr. Palm is a Republican in politics and was a member of the village
council for one year. He and his wife are members of the Swedish Lutheran
church and Mr. Palm is treasurer of the church board. He is a prominent
member of the Masonic fraternity and has served as junior deacon for two
terms.
Jones Palm was a member of the Fourteenth Regiment, Minnesota
Volunteer Infantry, during the Spanish-American War. This regiment was
reserved for the Havana campaign, but the war ended before the regiment
was called to the front. Mr. Palm was mustered out at St. Paul in Novem-
ber, 1898.
Jones Palm is a successful business man. a popular citizen and enjoys
the confidence of many friends in this part of Todd county.
AUGUST SANDAHL.
Among the farmers of Morrison county, Minnesota, who believe in
following twentieth-century methods, is August Sandahl of Elmdale town-
ship. Mr. Sandahl is a man of honorable characteristics, one who has
always been strong for right living and industrious habits and for all that
contributes to the welfare of the commonwealth. Such people are welcomed
in any community, for they are empire builders and as such have pushed the
frontier of civilization ever onward, leaving the wide-reaching wilderness
and the far-stretching plains populous with contented people and beautiful
with green fields.
August Sandahl was born in Sweden, in Orebrolen, in the central por-
tion of that country, on June 28, 1859. He was the only child of his par-
ents, John and Carolina (Elholm) Akholm, although each had had children
by a former marriage. Mr. Sandahl's parents never left their native country
and passed the latter years of their lives engaged in farming. The father
was a tailor by trade, which occupation he followed for a number of years,
but which he finally abandoned and took up agricultural work.
A.uffust was educated in the common schools located near his home and
hired out as a farm hand for a few years before emigrating to America.
He landed in Boston, but started almost immediately for Minneapolis,
reaching the latter city on June i, 1882. For a few weeks after reaching
his destination he was employed as a repairer on the street car tracks and
spent the balance of the summer in a stone quarry. The late fall of 1882
574 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
found him in the pine forests of Pine county, this state and he passed the
entire winter on Snake river. The spring of 1883 found him again in
MinneapoHs, where he spent that and the following summer working on
the city streets, with the winter spent in the woods of Pine county, as the
previous one had hcen. In the fall of 1884 Mr. Sandahl came to Morrison
county, looking for a tract of land, and he found eighty acres to his liking,
located in Elmdale township. This was wild land, all covered with trees
and undergrowth and he paid the sum of five dollars and twenty-five cents
per acre for it. He spent the winter on his new possession, making detail
plans of what he hoped to accomplish in succeeding years, and making
a start at his large task, and spring again found him in the city of Minne-
apolis. That summer he began the laying of sidewalks for the city, follow-
ing that occupation for eight years.
In 1893 Mr. Sandahl came to his land in Elmdale township where he
has since made his home. His first work was to make a small clearing
where he could erect his cabin and his next task was to cut the timbers for
the cabin. He completed his log house, having at first but two rooms, and
to this he has made considerable addition since. Then he began the arduous
task of preparing his land for cultivation, and so industriously did he labor,
that for some years practically all his land has been under cultivation and
pasture. Mr. Sandahl does a considerable amount of grain farming, but
only such amount as is properly proixjrtioned to the number of cattle he raises.
He has a fine strain of Guernsey cattle and his 1915 herd contains about
twenty-five head. He has twenty hogs and four horses. His farm land and
buildings proclaim the careful, thrifty man; all are in good repair and have
a most attractive appearance.
Mr. Sandahl was married on March 4, 1887, to .\ugusta Hokenson, also
a native of Sweden. She first .saw the light of day in Ellsbergersland on
April I, 1863, and received her education in her native land. She came
alone to this country, and secured work in the farm homes on Long Island,
New York, and in 1884 moved to Minneapolis where she was employed until
the time of her marriage. To Mr. and Mrs. Sandahl have been born seven
children, namely: Anna, wife of Fred .Xhlberg; Erick Henry, Axel Roy,
Arthur Amanuel, Ruth Judith, Oscar Daniel and George .\rnold.
Since first making his home in this county, Mr. Sandahl has taken an
active interest in the life of his community. He was one of the organizers
of the Upsala h'amiers Co-operative Creamery Company and is one of its
largest stockholders. He was also one of the first to advance the movement
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 575
which resulted m the organization of the Ehndale Stock Shippers' Association
and is one of the auditors of said association. Mr. Sandahl's hfe has been a
most active one and in the fall of 1914 he added to his original purchase,
eighty acres of land in section 20, of Swanville township, this county, mak-
ing his entire holdings one hundred and sixty acres. He is a member of
the Congregational church and gives earnest support to that society. Mr.
Sandahl's career has been characterized by untiring energy, uncompromising^
fidelity and an earnest desire to advance his own interests and those of the
community in which he has chosen to make his home. He has won and
retains the high regard of all with whom he comes in contact by the honor-
able course which lie has pursued.
OLOF SAMUELSON.
One of the substantial citizens of Elmdale township, Morrison county,
Minnesota, is Olof Samuelson, a retired farmer and native of the land of
Sweden. Mr. Samuelson was born in the western portion of that country,
close to the border between Sweden and Norway, and was a son of Samuel
Pehrson and Maria ( Pehrson ) Pehrson, farmers. Mr. Samuelson first saw
the light of day on November 8, 1847, ^""^l remained in his native land until
thirty-five years old. Neither parent ever left Sweden, but closed their lives
in the land of their birth. Both just reached the allotted mark of three score
and ten.
Olof Samuelson is the eldest of a family of seven children, and when
a boy received a good common school education near his childhood home,
and soon after finished his studies, was apprenticed to the carpenter's trade.
This he mastered and it was the means of his livelihood for a number of
years, until the time he took up his residence in Morrison county and became
an agriculturist. When a young man, Mr. Samuelson was married to Hulda
Millan, born in Sweden on January 11, 1850, and to that union has been
born, thirteen children. Those living are, Gustav, John, Signe, Jennie
William and Ebba. When thirty-five years of age, Mr. Samuelson emi-
grated to the United States and located in Minneapolis. He left his wife
and family of five children in Sweden and was in this country one year
before they joined him. In that time he had become recognized as a carpen-
ter of ability in the city where he had chosen to make his home, and for
eight years was a resident of that city. He found plenty of work at his trade
576 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
and prospered. By the time he decided to leave the city and take his family
to the country, he had acquired a comfortable home, and this he disposed
of in trade for eighty acres of land in Elmdale township, Morrison county,
and brought his family to his new possession in 1889. Part of his ground
was cultivated, but the greater portion was wild land and Mr. Samuelson
had before him the task of clearing it and making it ready for the plow.
From the first he carried on general farming, such as practiced throughout
this section, in addition to raising a limited number of cattle each year for
the market. Now that he has retired from the active duties about his home
place, he still does a small dairy business, milking five cows. Since first
becoming a citizen of this township, Mr. Samuelson has taken a commenda-
ble interest in various community affairs. He is a stockholder in the Upsala
creamery and is also a member of the Farmers' Fire Insurance Company of
B31mdale and a stockholder in the telephone company.
That Mr. Samuelson has prospered is not to be wondered at, for he is
a man of proper principles and is possessed of those traits of industry and
frugality which are sure to win a pleasing degree of material success for
their possessor. Mr. Samuelson holds his religious membership with the
Congregational church, to the support of which he contributes liberally of
his means, and in politics he votes independently, chosing his candidate
rather than endorsing the whole ticket of any one party.
GEORGE FLINT PARKER.
George Flint Parker is one of the most historic characters of Morrison
county, Minnesota, for his name is not only written in the history of the
great war of emancipation, in which he gallantly fought and suffered, but
it is also linked closely with the early memoirs of Minnesota. He is equally
noted as a man whose honorable life and vigorous application to business!
affairs have placed him in the foremost ranks of the citizens in his com-
munity. Strong in his determination to overcome all obstacles, ready to
lend a helping hand to any laudable enterprise, his sterling qualities as a
man have won for George Flint Parker the praise and admiration of his
many friends and associates.
George Flint Parker was born on December 26, 1846, at Brockton,
Plymouth county, Massachusetts, and is the son of Gould and Mar}- (Flint)
I'arker. Gould Parker was bom in January, about the year 1803, at Dover,
(;i:(ii;(;i: i'. rAUKKU
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 577
Maine, and was engaged in the furniture business. His death occurred in
1853, at the place of his birth. Mary (FHnt) Parker was bom on August
16, 181 1, at Danvers, Massachusetts, where she died in 1908. For many
years she was an enthusiastic worker in the Porter Congregational church,
of which she was the first member and the last surviving original member
of this church to embrace the Congregational faith. Five children were
born to the union of Gould and Mary (Flint) Parker: Mary (Mrs. King-
man), deceased; Caroline E. (Mrs. Packard), living at Brockton, Massa-
chusetts; Susan (Maria Lathrop), deceased; Gould E., deceased, and George
Flint Parker, of Randall, Morrison county, Minnesota.
George Flint Parker secured his education from the public schools of
North Bridgewater, Massachusetts, the same being afterward changed to
Brockton, the famous shoe manufacturing city, and in this city, at the age
of fourteen years, he began his career by working in a shoe factory. At
the commencement of the Civil War, George Flint Parker offered his
services in the support of his country. He was then fifteen years and six
months of age. The following is taken from the memorial record volumes
of Fletcher Webster Post No. 13, Grand Army of the Republic, of Brock-
ton, Massachusetts :
"Comrade George F. Parker entered the service as per adjutant-gen-
eral's records as a private in Company C, of the Forty-second Massachusetts
Regiment (nine months), accredited to North Bridgewater, Massachusetts.
Mustered October 11, 1862; termination of service August 20, 1863, at
expiration of term. He re-entered the service as per adjutant general's
records, as again accredited to North Bridgewater, mustered January i,
1864, as a private in Company F. .Second Regiment of Massachusets Cav-
alry Volunteers, and served to the end of the war. His expiration of service
is recorded as July 20, 1865, over three months after Lee's surrender. He
joined Post 13, Grand Army of the Republic, was balloted for and elected
on November 13, 1867. and mustered or initiated on January 8, 1868. He
has two sisters and a brother now living in Brockton. His brother, Gould
E. Parker, volunteered in the Second Massachusets Battery in war time
and was transferred to, and discharged from the Sixth Massachusetts
Battery.
"Comrade George F. Parker partici])ated in the notable service of the
Forty-second Massachusetts Regiment, which, although varied, is recorded
in history as well performed, and the enlisted men in its ranks are given
special praise officially. On December 3, 1862, the regiment embarked from
(37)
5/8 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
New York for distant service, the subsequent service was chiefly Louisiana,
Texas and Mississippi, ending on August 20, 1863. Subsequent to his being
mustered into the Second Regiment of Massachusetts Cavalry Volunteers,
January i, 1864, that regiment added laurels to its already good record by
its participation in engagements on February 22, 1864, near Drainsville,
expeditions in Fauquier and Loudoun counties, Virginia, also, commencing
some three months subsequent, participated in engagements and battles at
Halltown, followed by Opequon, Winchester, Luray, Waynesborough and
Tom's Brook. As early as February 27, 1865, expeditions under General
Sheridan, followed by battles at Cedar Creek, South Anna, White Oak
Road, Berryville, Berryville Pike, Charleston, Virginia, Dinwiddie Court
House, Five Forks, Saylors Creek, and Appomattox Court House, when
the Confederate army surrendered.
"In the service sketch of George F. Parker it should be stated that
Parker was taken prisoner while serving in the Second Regiment of the
Massachusetts Cavalry and imprisoned in the Andersonville prison for sev-
eral months. Several North Bridgewater soldiers were associated with him
in the prison, namely: George T. Whitcomb, Company H, Massachusetts
Heavy Artillery, who, with himself, survived prison life while their asso-
ciates, Sumner A. Smith, Company H, of the Second Regiment of Massa-
chusetts Heavy Artillery, and Christopher Brannagan, of the same company,
George E. Holmes and George H. Thompson, of Company F, of the Fifty-
eighth Massachusetts Regiment, Frank E. Drake, Company L of the First
Regiment of Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, died at the hands of their
prison keepers. The names of these five are on the tablet in the rotunda of
Brockton city hall. Comrade George F. Parker and Whitcomb were plucky
boys and while their good grit pulled them through and they survived prison
life and escaped the tortures and horrors of the .Andersonville death pen,
yet they were obliged to see many of their comrades waste away and give up
their precious lives."
The exact time which George Flint Parker spent in tlu- Andersmnille
prison was four months and twenty days. His final discharge occurred on
July 20, 1865, at Fairfax Court House, Virginia. After peace was declared
he returned home and again resumed his occupation in the shoe factory,
where he remained until February i. iHfK), after wliicli he removed to
Bangor, Maine, and assumed the management of a shoe factory for J. O. B.
Darling and remained in that position for a period of four years. After this
he continued in the harness and shoe business in the East until 1879, when,
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 579
having formed a favorable impression of the opportunities in the western
country, he decided to locate permanently in that section and came to Mor-
rison county, Minnesota, where he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres
of land in Parker township in the north half of the south half of section 12,
where he now lives.
This property was never cultivated by George Flint Parker, as he began
contracting with the Northern Pacific and Great Northern railroads in cut-
ting ties, on which work he employed a large number of men. In addition
to this contract work he managed a saw-mill concern, operating six mills^
and was overseer for the tie cutting at the time the Northern Pacific was
being constructed and was the first man to introduce sawed ties for railway
construction.
George Flint Parker, in those early pioneer days, was the first white
man to locate in Parker township, which settlement occurred on the 17th
of April, 1879, the township having been named for him. From June, 1889,
until October, 1892, he was employed as a manager and clerk in the general
merchandise store of Brooks & Company, the duties of this position being
tie contracting. In October, 1893, he was honored with the appointment of
postmaster of Randall, Morrison county, Minnesota, in which capacity he
served with credit until his retirement from that office and active business
life in 1896. He is the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of timber
land, also of town property, on which he has erected a fine residence in
Randall. Morrison county, Minnesota.
The marriage of George Flint Parker to Edith Muir was solemnized
at Baltimore, Marjdand, during the year of 1879. Edith Muir was born
on October 18, 185 1, in Nova Scotia, from which province, at two years of
age, she emigrated with her parents to this country and settled in the state
of Massachusetts. Mrs. Edith (Muir) Parker died on June 15, 1888.
George Flint Parker and Edith (Muir) Parker were the parents of one
child. Edith, who was reared in Randall, Minnesota, where she obtained a
liberal education and afterward taught in the public schools of South
Dakota. Again the bereaved father was called upon to part with a loved
one, his only child, who died when about thirty-one years of age.
George Flint Parker is an ardent Democrat, and his religious member-
ship is with the Congregational church. He was the first justice of the
peace and notar>' public at Randall, Minnesota, and performed the duties
of these offices for a period of thirty-one years. In all matters relating to
the welfare of the city and county, George Flint Parker takes a deep interest
580 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
and is a liberal supporter thereof. Socially, he moves in the best circles, and
with his wide acquaintance, acquired from a long career of varied exper-
iences, he is deservedly popular. His life, so full of activity and fraught
with so many vicissitudes of joy and sorrow, has been rounded out to the
age of sixty-nine years.
ERICK ERLANDSON.
Erick Erlandson, one of the best-known farmers of Elmdale township,
Morrison county, Minnesota, is one of that interesting class of Elmdale
township's citizens who came within her borders with but very little in a
financial way, but rich in ability and worthy ambition. He has won a grati-
fying degree of success, but only such as is commensurate with the strenuous
effort put forth. His career has demonstrated the fact that he is one of
those strong characters who allow no obstacle to hinder their progress and
that each fresh impediment but adds to their determination to succeed. Mr.
Erlandson is a man of pleasing personalit}' which has won him a goodly
number of warm friends, and possessing civic pride in a marked degree he
is one of Elmdale township's citizens who can always be counted on to give
his influence to the furtherance of any project which is intended to add to
the wel!-])eing of the community.
Erick Erlandson was born in the southern portion of Sweden on March
2, 1863, being the eldest child of Peter and Segrad (Swanson) Erlandson.
Peter Erlandson was a farmer all his life and never left his native land.
His death occurred when he was about fifty years of age, and after his death
his widow came to this country to make her home with the immediate sub-
ject of this sketch. She was born in 1836 and is still living, a remarkably
well-preserved woman for her seventy-nine years. She is the mother of five
children, all of whom have become citizens of this country.
Erick Erlandson received his education in the schools near his home
and when (juite young began working on various farms in the neighborhood.
He continued to be thus employed until 1882, and liy that time had decided
that life in his native country held but few opportunities for him and that
his best chance for advancement in the world hi}- across the waters. Conse-
(juently, be emigrated to the United States, landing at Philadelphia, travel-
ing direct from there to Grove City, this state. At that point he had a
brother employed, who had crossed the waters some time previous, and Erick
also found work there. He remained in Grove City until the fall of 1884
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 581
when he came to Morrison county and in Elmdale township bought eighty
acres of wild land, for which he paid five dollars and fifty-six cents per
acre. There were no roadways leading to his land and what few possessions
he had, had to be carried from Albany, a distance of twelve miles. The two
following winters he spent on his farm, making what progress he could, and
in the summers he worked at his old place in Grove City.
Erick Erlandson settled permanently on his farm at the time of his mar-
riage on November 21, 1886, when he was united in matrimony with Hanna
Johnson, a native of Norway, born about ten miles from the city of
Christiana, on September 24, 1864. She grew up in her native land, receiv-
ing a fair education, and remained there until twenty-two years of age, when
she came to this country with a brother who located in Elmdale township.
She was a daughter of John Torkelson and Carrie (Hanson) Torkelson,
neither of whom ever came to this country, both now being deceased. Mrs.
Erlandson and her brother were located not far from where Mr. Erlandson
bought his farm and they made the acquaintance of the ambitious young
Swede soon after he first came to this section. This acquaintance resulted
in marriage, and in the following spring Mr. Erlandson built a little two-
room log house on their farm, where they lived for some time. Two addi-
tional rooms were later added and eventually a second story, making a most
comfortable home.
From the first Mr. Erlandson began clearing and cultivating his land
and in 1908 he purchased forty acres adjoining him on the north, most of
which is now under cultivation. In the fall of 1914 he bought another tract
of twenty acres, which joined his land on the east and he now has in all one
hundred and forty acres. He gives his land to the business of general
farming and the raising of live stock, specializing in Guernsey cattle. His
1915 herd numbers about fifteen head and he has also a number of Poland
China hogs, which are half pure bred. He also keeps a number of horses
to assist in the work of the farm, which is done in a most thorough and
svstematic manner. This farm home presents an attractive appearance with
its well-kept fields and lanes, good outbuildings and fine-appearing stock ; all
most complimentary to the ability of the owner.
Mr. Erlandson is a broad-minded man, keenly alive to everything which
makes for the advancement of the interests of his community, and he is
interested in a number of concerns designed with that intent. He is a stock-
holder in the local creamery, a member of the Elmdale Shippers' Associa-
tion, a member of the Farmers' Telephone Company and a stockholder in
582 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. %
the Duluth Electric short line. He is known as a man of most excellent
judgment and his name given to any enterprise insures the following of
others. Mr. Erlandson is a devout member of the Lutheran church and
takes a commendable interest in its affairs. Mr. Erlandson has very little
time to give matters of a political nature.
There are eight children in the Erlandson family, as follow : Amel,
born on July 9, 1887; Alma, wife of William Samalson, .\ugust 3, 1890;
Anna, March 16, 1893; Harry, November 6. 1896; Roy, September 7, 1898;
Arved, April 5, 1901 ; Helen, September 20, 1903, and Elmer, September
II, 1906. In the education and training of this family, both parents have
made all possible endeavors to bring them to manhood and womanhood well
fitted for their places in the world, and the children are proving a credit to
this training.
Mr. Erlandson is a man of sound and practical intelligence, keenly
alert to everything relating to his interests, and in fact, with all that concerns
the prosperity and advancement of the community. Because of his splendid
personal characteristics and his genuine worth, he enjoys the confidence and
esteem of all who know him and he is eminently entitled to representation
in a work of the character of the one in hand.
SYLVESTER J. SHUTT.
Among the prosperous farmers of Scandia Valley township, Morrison
county, Minnesota, is Sylvester J. Shutt, a native of Olmsted county, Minne-
sota, where he was born on May 28, 1875. ^^^- Shutt is the son of John
and Abbie Shutt, the former of whom was born on March 21, 1842, in
Adams county, Pennsylvania, and the latter was l)orn on July 20, 1852, at
East Hampton, Massachusetts.
John Shutt, who died at Granada, Minnesota, on January 17, 1914, was
a flour miller by trade, who immigrated to Olmstead county, Minnesota,
about 1870. He there engaged in farming for two years. Afterward he
removed to Flandrue, South Dakota, where he resumed milling. Six years
later he removed to Kingsbury county. South Dakota, and homesteaded a
tract of land upon which he made inany improvements and where he farmed
for fifteen years. Suliscquently, however, he sold out and removed to
Martin county, Minnesota, where he rented land until his retirement in 1906,
wlien he removed to Granada, Minnesota.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 583
Mrs. Abbie Shutt, who is now living with her son, Sylvester, near Ft.
Ripley, is the daughter of Sylvester and Aquista Alderman, the former
of whom was born in 1824, at East Hampton, Massachusetts, and who immi-
grated to Olmsted county, Minnesota, in 1854. He homesteaded land in
Olmsted county and improved it and farmed for fifteen years. During this
period his nearest market was Winona, Minnesota, fifty miles distant, and
it was necessary to use o.Kcn for eight years in order to transport his pro-
duct to market. Later he removed to Brookings county. South Dakota, and
farmed a few years, when he returned to Stewartville, Minnesota, where he
lived with a daughter, Mrs. Harriet Johnson. He died on January 15, 1896.
His wife, who was born in North Hampton, Massachusetts, died at Stewart-
ville, Minnesota. Both were members of the Congregational church. Mr.
Shutt's mother was reared on a farm and attended the district school at
Stewartville, Minnesota, and there received her education. She is a mem-
ber of the Congregational church.
Sylvester J. Shutt was reared on a farm and educated in the public
schools of Flandrue, South Dakota. Mr. Shutt left home when twenty-
five years old, and until 1901 worked as a farm hand at fifteen dollars a
month. In 1901 Mr. Shutt came to Morrison county and purchased one
hundred and sixty acres of land in section 22, of Scandia Valley township.
Ten acres of the land had been cultivated and there was a log house and
barn on the farm. In 1913 Mr. Shutt erected a barn, twenty-eight by forty
feet, and in 1914 built a house, one and one-half stories high with nine rooms,
at a cost of about two thousand dollars. Mr. Shutt now has sixty acres of
land under cultivation.
On June 30, 1900, Sylvester J. Shutt was married to Phebe Campbell,
who was bom on February 22, 1863, in Illinois, and who is the daughter
of James and Evelyn (Clemmins) Campljell, the former of whom was born
in Pennsylvania, in 182 1. and who immigrated to Minnesota in 1903. Subse-
quently, he returned to Pennsylvania and lived with a daughter until his
death, March 29, 191 5. Mrs. Shutt's mother was born in Illinois. She
died in 1895, at the age of fifty years.
Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester Shutt have had two children, Joseph, l)orn on
August 17, 1902; and Claud, May 30, 1903.
Although they are not members of any church, Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester
Shutt are regular attendants at church. Mr. Shutt is a member of the
Modern Woodmen of America. He is an independent voter, has served as
chairman of the township board and is now a member of the school board.
584 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
HEMAN D. SNOW.
Few of the farmers of Morrison county, Minnesota, are better known
than Heman Snow who has been a resident of that section for almost forty
years, and who through (^uiet, persistent and honorable effort has reached a
responsible position in the world of agriculture. His career is a story of a
struggle under difficulties, and a courageous fight against all the hardships
incidental to establishing a home in an undeveloped section of timber land
and prairie. As a result of a well-directed life he is now enjoying the pros-
perity he so well deserves. The father of Heman Snow was a pioneer
settler of Minnesota having taken up his residence there shortly after the
Civil War.
Heman D. Snow was born on November 12, 1847, in Pennsylvania.
He is the .son of James R. and Elizabeth (Shelp) Snow, the parents of seven
children, one of whom is deceased. James Snow was a native of Pennsyl-
vania, and after reaching the age of manhood, worked at the carpenter's
trade. In 1868 he came to Wright county, Minnesota, and began the
romantic but difficult life of a pioneer of the wilderness. He homesteaded
eighty acres of land, which he sold and went into the hotel business in Minne-
apolis. Later, he went to Morrison county, Minnesota, and cleared twenty
acres of land in Parker township, section 2,^. This land gave good returns
for labor, and Mr. Snow remained there for a number of years. He gave
up farming and the farm was later left to a daughter.
Mr. Snow was married twice, first to Elizabeth Shelp, a native of Penn-
sylvania, who died in 1863. His second wife was Mrs. Charles Geary, who
had four children by her first husband. Mr. Snow died in iQw;, at the
advanced age of eighty years.
The life of Heman Snow has been one of constant industry. Aftet
leaving Pennsylvania with his parents he worked as a laborer until twenty-
three years of age. Later he became a stationary engineer at Howard Lake.
Minnesota, for the grist-mills and remained at that occupation for six years.
In 1878 he came to Morrison county, Minnesota, where he had a homestead
claim on eighty acres of land in section 26, Parker township. He was
obliged to cut the underbrush, clear the tract of timber and make an entrance
to the land. During the difficult times of homesteatling he made his home
with a family by the name of Pierce. The first year of his arrival in
Parker township, he built a small log cabin in which he lived for a while with
his small son. his first wife having died before he came to Morrison county.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 585
The men who braved the dangers of the forest and the long journeys
through scantily populated regions and all the privations incidental to estab-
lishing a home in the wilderness deserve all the praise of the community
in which they live. Mr. Snow fought most of his hardships alone and it
was four years before he got a start at farming. His son Francis, who was
born by his first wife, is now living in Courtney, North Dakota, and is the
husband of Fawn Sight. The second marriage of Heman Snow was to
Mrs. Eliza (Mills) Allen, the widow of D. Allen, and a native of Ohio.
She had five children by her marriage to Mr. Allen. Mr. Snow had the
misfortune to be left alone again, and six years later married Mrs. Mary E.
Eastman, widow of James \V. Eastman. Mr. and Mrs. Eastman had seven
children, six sons and one daughter, the latter being deceased.
Mr. Snow has always been an advocate of the principles of the Demo-
cratic partv. In his church membership he is linked with the Episcopalians.
Fraternally, he is a member of the Masons and enters heartily into the afifairs
of that order. In public affairs, Mr. Snow has always been extremely
popular and has served as road supervisor in Parker township, and also as
a member of the school board.
EDWARD M. LaFOND.
Among the progressive citizens of Little Falls, Morrison county, Min-
nesota, is Edward M. LaFond, treasurer and business manager of the Tran-
script Publishing Company of that city. Mr. LaFond stands in high repute
among his fellow citizens and both in his business capacity and as a private
citizen he has been an important factor in the development of the town
where he resides.
Edward M. LaFond was born in Little Falls on August 26, 1875, son
of .Moses and Harriet (Finnegan) LaFond, the former a Canadian by birth
and the latter a native of the Emerald Isle. Moses LaFond was born in
Three Rivers, province of Quebec, on March 7, 1836, and when a young
man of eighteen years came to Little Falls, in the vicinity of which city he
he passed the remainder of his life. For many years he was connected with
the cattle industry as a trader and after a few years given to this pursuit
he opened a general store in Little Falls, which he operated for the following
fifteen years. His next business venture was the operation of a saw-mill
ab.tut seven miles west of Little Falls, to which enterprise he gave twelve
586 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
years of his life. He tlien retired from active duties and his death occurred
on October 2, 1905, when sixty years of age.
Harriet Finnegan, wife of Moses LaFond and mother of the imme-
diate subject of this sketch, was bom near the city of Killarney, in County
Kerry, Ireland, on October 10, 1838. Her parents died while she was still a
small girl and she was brought to this country by the older members of the
family a few years later. She located in Little Falls, where the balance of
her life was spent. She was the mother of five children, the subject of this
sketch being the youngest of the family. The eldest is George and the next
in order of birth is Charles. Then follow Ellen, wife of Robert Herron,
Mary, now deceased, and Edward M.
Edward M. LaFond received his elementary education in the common
schools of his native city and later attended St. John's College, in Stearns
county, where he studied one year in the commercial department. After
completing his commercial course, young LaFond secured a clerkship in the
law offices of his brother-in-law. Congressman C. A. Lindbergh, where he
remained for two years. His next position was with the Herald Printing
Company, of Little Falls, and he remained in the mechanical department of
that company for five years. For a short time (some four months) Mr.
LaFond was employed in St. Paul by the McGill-Warner Company, who
had the contract for the state printing. Init he soon returned to his native
city and assumed the foremanship of the Transcript Puljlishing Compan\-.
That position he most efficiently filled from 1899 to 1906, when he was made
Itusiness manager of the company in recognition of his ability and faithful
service. He is at the present time a large stockholder in the compan\- and
has been serving as its treasurer since November, 1908.
On T'^ebruary 18, 1902, Edward M. LaFond was united in marriage
with (Jr.'ice W. Hill, born in Little Falls on December 13, 1876, daughter of
¥Avm (]. and I.sadore (Mix) Hill, the father a native of INIaine and the
mother from Vermont state. Elvin G. Hill came to Little Falls when a
young man and there met the young woman who afterwards became his
wife, she having been brought to that section some time before by her p:ir-
ents. For fotir years previous to her marriage, Mrs. LaFond was a teacher
in the pu])lic schools of Little Falls. She received her education in the
schools of that city and has the distinction of Ijeing one of the first class
to he graduated from the Little Falls high school. There were but four mem-
bers of that class. .After finishing her .studies there, she became a student
at St. Cloud Normal, from which she was graduated in due time. Mr. and
Mrs. LaFond haxc one child, a daughter Kosc who was liorn on March 1=;,
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 587
1903, and is at present attending the grade schools. Mr. and Mrs. LaFond
have a wide circle of friends, move in the best social circles of their city and
are numbered among its most enterprising and progressive citizens. In addi-
tion to his interest in his company, Mr. LaFond has unimproved city prop-
erty. In politics he is a stanch Republican, although devoting but a small
amount of time to political work. His fraternal affiliation is held in the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Modern Woodmen of Amer-
ica, Knights of the Maccabees and the Red Men. in the work of which orders
he takes more than a passing interest.
Mr. LaFond is numbered among the best business men of his city, and
under his management the enterprise in which he is interested has made
rapid advancement along legitimate lines. Of broad and liberal views and
of undoubted business integrity, Mr. LaFond is eminently entitled to the
pleasing degree of esteem in which he is held by his fellow men.
SURVETUS C. COCHRAN.
One of the good citizens of Morrison county, Minnesota, to whom
Randall and vicinity are largely indebted for considerable impetus to the
commercial life, is Survetus C. Cochran, formerly a merchant of Randall
and now one of its enterprising real estate men. Mr. Cochran first came
to this county in 1882 and since that time he has been a well-known citizen
of the county of his adoption, first as a school teacher and later as a merch-
ant. He is a man of excellent parts and has faithfully and eiificiently dis-
charged the duties devolving upon him in the different phases of community
life to which he has given his attention.
Survetus C. Cochran is a native of Iowa, born in Marion county,
September 25, 1863, son of Survetus J. and Susan (Barns) Cochran, and the
second of their family of three children. The eldest child of the family is
James, residing at Plainville, Kansas, and the youngest is Fannie, (Mrs.
Bonebrake) a resident of Stockton, Kansas.
Mr. Cochran's father was born in Ohio, May 10, 1834, and throughout
the active years of his life he was engaged in farming. He went to Iowa
in 1856 and settled in Marion county, where he farmed for a number of
years. In 1882 he came to Morrison county and purchased a tract of eighty
acres in Parker township. This was covered with timber and he set about
putting his land in a state for cultivation. In his farm work at that stage.
588 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
he used oxen and he continued to farm that tract of land until 1896, when
he retired from active labor and moved to Randall, where his death occurred
in 1908. Mr. Cochran's mother was a native of the state of Kentucky, born
April 21, 1824. She was twice married, her first husband being Woodson
Fletcher, a farmer of Kentucky, by whom she became the mother of four
children. The two eldest, Martha, wife of J. Cochran, and Nancy, wife
of William Whitlach, are deceased. Linnie, who is Mrs. Hibbitts, resided
in Marion county, Iowa, and Robert lives at Lacona, that state. Mr. Fletcher
died about twelve years after marriage, and his widow became the wife of
Survetus J. Cochran. She died in September, 1913, at a ripe old age.
Mr. Cochran was reared on a farm and attended the district schools of
Marion county, Iowa, near his home. At the age of seventeen he had so
diligently applied himself to his books, that he was able to commence teach-
ing, finding a position in his native county, and when his parents came,
to Morrison county in 1882 he accompanied them, and took up the work
of teaching in Two Rivers township, Morrison county. This work he con-
tinued for about twelve years, when he decided to enter the mercantile field,
and upened up a general merchandise stor in Randall. He started with but
a small stock and gradually added to same until he was carrying about
seven thousand dollars worth of goods, when he sold out in 191 1. He spent
the following year in Oregon, but returned to Randall and opened up another
general merchandise store, disposing of that business in the spring of 191 5.
Mr. Cochran was postmaster of Randall for nine years, receiving his
appointment in 1897. After selling out his second store early in 19 15, on
March i, of that year, he opened up an office in Randall for the transaction
of real estate and kindred btisinesses. He bids fair to meet with the same
pleasing degree of success in this venture as has attended him in the past,
for he stands high in the estimation of his fellow citizens and puts into any
undertaking such effort as is bound to win success. Mr. Cochran is a land-
owner of considerable importance, his holdings in Morrison county totaling
si.\ hundred and forty acres, and in addition to this, he is also interested
in the Randall Co-operative Creamery Company and h;is served as its presir
(kilt in the past.
Survetus C. Cochran was married on December 17, 1885. to Ella Rick-
erson, born in Wright county. Minnesota, on May 12. 1865, a daughter of
Charles N. and Cathrine (Brooks) Rickerson, natives of Kentucky, i)oth of
whom are now deceased. To Mr. and Mr.s. Cochran have been born three
children, namely: Mable, wife of Hans N. Elvig, living in Randall; Zelma,
at home with the parents, and Verner, who died on July 5, 1902.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 589
Mr. Cochran is a faithful member of the Presbyterian church, in the
work of which he displays a commendable interest. He gives his political
support to the Republican party. Although not especially interested in politi-
cal matters, he at one time served his party as school director for Randall
school district No. 72. His fraternal afifiliation is held with the Modern
Woodmen of America through the local lodge at Randall. Mr. Cochran
has led a quiet and well-regulated life, so ordering his affairs as to win the
trust and confidence of those who know him best and in every walk of life
he has proven himself a broad-minded and honorable man.
VERNIE LOCKWOOD.
The best history of a community or state is that which deals most with
the lives and activities of its people, especially those who by their own
endeavor and energy forge to the front and carve out their own success.
Starting in a small way some fifteen years ago, Vernie Lockwood has built
up a large patronage in Morrison county and, what is better than his busi-
ness, is the reputation which he has builded in all of these years of dealing
with the public. The Lockwood family in America is descended from Rob-
ert Lockwood, who came over to America with Governor Winthrop in 1630,
and settled in what is now Watertown, Massachusetts. Robert Lockwood
married Susannah Sention and from their union si.x children are sprung, all
of the various representatives of the Lockwood family in .Vmerica. Robert
Lockwood died in 1658 and his wife on December 23, 1660, at Greenwich,
Connecticut.
\'ernie Lockwood, dealer in hardware, furniture, implements and har-
ness in Motley, Minnesota, was born on July 5, 1877, in Hennepin county,
Minnesota. He is the son of Isaac and Mary A. (Gordon) Lockwood, and
is their only child. Isaac Lockwood was born in 1854, in Wisconsin, and
was a farmer by occupation. He died from the effects of an axe wound,
when Vernie was about three years old. Mrs. Mary A. (Gordon) Lock-
wood was born in Carver county, Minnesota, in 1856, and is now living near
Long Lake, Minnesota. She is the daughter of Charles and Elizabeth
(Stubbs) Gordon, who were born in Indiana. Mr. Lockwood has in his
possession the complete genealogical record of the Lockwood family for
many generations.
X^ernie Lockwood was reared on the farm and remained at home until
590 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
twenty-two years old, when he purchased a small stock of goods and opened
up a grocery business with seventy-five dollars cash and some money which
he borrowed from his neighbors. He was the proprietor of the store from
November i, 1899, until December 5, 1905, when he established a general
mercantile store at Motley with a stock of merchandise worth about seven
thousand dollars. In 1910 he closed out the mercantile .store, and estab-
lished a general line of implements and hardware, furniture and harness.
He now carries a ten-thousand-dollar stock of merchandise, and owns eighty
acres of partly-improved land in Cass county. He is also a shareholder
and manager of the Motley Telephone Company. Mr. Lockwood employs
two clerks the year round. This is no mean record for a man whose educa-
tion extended only as far as the eighth grade.
Vernie Lockwood was married in 1899 to Ina Snoke, who was born on
August 26, 1876, in Minneapolis, and who is a graduate of a business col-
lege of that place. Mrs. Lockwood is the daughter of Martin and Mary
(Turnham) Snoke, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania and who
was a farmer and fruit grower in Hennepin county, but who is now deceased.
Mrs. Lockwood's mother is now living on the home place.
Mr. and Mrs. Vernie Lockwood have had four children. Paul, born in
April, 1901 ; Stanley B., June, 1903: Verna M., August, 1908; and Gladys,
August, 1914.
Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood and family are members of the Methodist
church. Mr. Lockwood is independent in politics and has held various posi-
tions of trust and responsibility. He has served on both the council and the
school board, and is at present the treasurer of the Morrison County Fair
Association, held at Motley, Minnesota.
ANDREW HERUM.
It is proper to judge of a man's success in life by the estimation in
which he is held by his fellow citizens. They have opportunity for observ-
ing his conduct in all the relations of life, and after a long course of years
of such observation, it would be out of the question for his neighbors not
to know his true worth. It is not too much to say that the subject of this
sketch has in the manner above indicated, been heartily approved by all those
with whom he has come in contact. Since 1908 Mr. Herum has been a
county commissioner of Morrison county and has most ably discharged the
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 591
duties devolving upon him. Morrison county can boast of fine highways and
many excellent bridges, and the improvement of public thoroughfares is a
subject to which Mr. Herum has given much time and thought. In his pri-
vate business of farmer and cattle breeder, Mr. Herum meets with marked
success. He has a good strain of Shorthorn cattle, and inasmuch as he man-
ages both farm and herd along approved scientific lines, he meets with
commensurate returns for his efiforts. He is also one of the principal share-
holders of the Randall Co-operative Creamery Company, and is serving that
organization as secretary at the present time.
Andrew Henim was born on November 3, 1868, in Dane county, Wis-
consin, a son of Peter and Bertha (Hermanson) Herum, and was one of
a family of twelve children, three daughters and nine sons. Both parents
were natives of Norway, the father born on June 4, 1822, and the mother in
1836. They were married in their native land and had their eldest son
Eric when they emigrated to this country, in the year 1847. I^ was one year
later when they reached Dane county, Wisconsin, and there the father pur-
chased a tract of land containing one hundred and sixty acres. He lived on
that farm for twenty years, selling out in 1868. He remained in Dane
county for two more years, and in 1870 removed to Emmet county, Iowa,
where he purchased land and again carried on farming on an extensive
scale. He prospered and added to his holdings from time to time so that
at the time of his death, on November 10, 1895, he was the owner of seven
hundred and forty acres of fine farming lands. The mother had died some
years previous, her death occurring in 1872.
Andrew passed his boyhood in his native county, receiving his ele-
mentaiy education in the district schools near his home. For higher edu-
cation he went to the Decorah Institute College, located at Decorah, Iowa,
where he also took a business course. After his special studies, he returned
home and remained with his father until the latter's death. He then took
charge of settling up the estate and remained in Iowa until 1898, when he
came to Morrison county. Upon coming here he purchased one hundred
and sixty acres of virgin soil, all thickly covered with Iirush and timber, and
started in to clear it up and place it under cultivation. He now has forty
acres under cultivation and lets his cattle have the run of the balance of the
land.
On August 12, 1900. Andrew Herum was united in marriage to Ida
Wentzel, born July 29, 1882, near Berlin, Germany. Ten years later she left
there with her father and they came to the United States to make their
future home. They located in Carroll county, Iowa, and in the schools near
592 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
her home Ida finished her education, which had been begun in her native
land. To Mr. and Mrs. Herum have been born five children, namely :
Hilda F., Bertha L., Stanley B., Chester .\. and Helen W., all of whom
remain with the parents. The family is considered among the leading ones
of Parker township and the home is the center of a large circle of warm
friends. The children are receiving good educations and such training within
the home as is calculated to produce the finest type of men and women. Mr.
Herum is a member of the Reformed Lutheran Church and Mrs. Herum
of the German Lutheran, and to the support of these societies they give
generously of their means. Mr. Herum endorses the platform of the Repub-
lican party and is one of its most active members in that section. He is a
stanch advocate of all that will advance the interests of his community, and
no worthy movement bids for his support in vain. His manner of discharg-
ing his duties, both pri\ate and public, mark him as a man possessed of more
than ordinary executive ability and his unquestioned integrity in all matters
fully entitles him to the pleasing regard in which he is held by friends and
business acquaintances alike.
REV. STEPHEN BUJ.^LSKI.
Among the successful and much-heloved priests of the Polish Catholic
church in Morrison county, Minnesota, is the Rev. Stephen Bujalski, who
was born on September 15, 1881, at Warsaw, Poland, the son of \'ictor and
Tressa (Bujalski) Bujalski.
Father Bujalski's father was a farmer in Poland, liorn at Warsaw, in
1840. For many years he was engaged in farming, until his retirement
some years ago. He is now seventy-five years of age and is still living.
Father Bujalski's mother is also still living in Poland and is sixty-eight
years old, having been born in 1847. -'^'i'^ '^ the mother of nine children,
.Albcna, y\le.\ander. Rough, Ludwick, Knzimicz. Stephen, Mary, Maria and
Modora.
Stephen Bujalski was educated by a priv.itc tutor in his own home and
attended wh.it is called in Poland the gymnasium, or the high school, as it
would be called in America. He afterward attended Biala College, at Biala,
Poland, and was graduated from this institution with the class of igoi.
Subsequently, he was a student at the seminary at Lublin, Poland. .After
graduating from St. Stanislaus Seminar\' at Lublin, with the class of 1905,
RKV. sTi;i-in:x iumai.ski
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
593
Father Bujalski went to Krokan, in Galacia, where he took a one year
course, attending the Jaziellanski University, which has no superior in alf
Poland.
In 1906, immediately after leaving the university, he came to the United
States, and upon landing in Boston, Massachusetts, traveled directly to St.
Paul and then on to St. Cloud, Minnesota, where he was ordained a priest
by Bishop Throbic and celebrated his first mass on June 8, 1907. A short
time afterward Father Bujalski moved to Perham, in Otter Tail county,
where he took charge of St. Stanislaus church, remaining there for two
years. From Perham, Father Bujalski moved to Friendsburg, Morrison
county, where he took charge of the Sacred Heart church, remaining for
two years. He was then transferred to St. Anna, Stearns county, where
he remained about three years. Since 1914 he has been pastor of St.
Edwards church at Elmdale. Here he has a most thriving congregation.
MAURICE OLSON.
Diligent application to a task and the satisfactory completion of same,
seems to be an inborn trait of the Swedish people, collectively and indi-
vidually as well. Of all the nations, whose sons and daughters have engaged
in the wonderful development of this country, Sweden has contributed her
full quota of men and women whose sober, intelligent and industrious char-
acters have become potent factors in the advancement of this republic.
Many of the emigrants from Sweden to this country have landed on our
shores empty handed, but they have invariably brushed aside all difficulties,
and, with that grim determination which brooks no defeat, have marched
on to prosperity and wealth. A representative of this Swedish nation,
Maurice Olson, a farmer of Little Falls, Morrison county, Minnesota, has
fulfilled every requirement of a self-made man, and has accomplished results
on a broad scale. Starting from the lowest round of the ladder, he has
steadily climbed to the top in his chosen profession. Starting as a deck-
hand on a steamer. Maurice Olson has emerged as a farmer of wealth and
prominence.
Maurice Olson was born on March 22, 1871, in Leonardville, Kansas,
and is one of eight children born to Hokom and Bettie (Kemp) Olson. The
names of the children are as follow: Ola H., now at Woodward county,
(38)
594 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Oklahoma ; Swan, who Hves in Grant county, Oklahoma ; Henry, who resides
at Leonardville, Kansas; Frank E., also at Leonardville, Kansas; Maurice,
a farmer of Little Falls, Minnesota; William A., living at Leonardville,
Kansas; Mary (Mrs. Shilerston), who resides at Lawrence, Kansas, and
Dr. Albert Olson, who has a flourishing practice at Manhattan, Kansas.
Hokom Olson was born on February 2, 1833, in Sweden, and, leaving
that country in 1867, immigrated to America and located in Knoxville, Illi-
nois, where he worked as a farm hand and laborer for two years. Directly
after his first two years' experience in this country, Hokom Olson removed
to Salina, Kansas, where he worked as a laborer on the railroad, and in
1870 homesteaded on land located in Riley county, Kansas, which property
he rapidly improved and enlarged from subsequent purchases until at the
time of his death on March 22, 1888, he was the owner of four hundred
acres of fertile soil.
Bettie (Kemp) Olson, the wife of Hokom Olson, was born on Octol)er
14, 1840, in Sweden, and in 1867, with her husband, immigrated to America.
She is now living in Leonardville, Kansas. Both of these parents were
members of the Swedish Lutheran church.
Maurice Olson spent his boyhood on the farm and attended the public
schools at Leonardville, Kansas, completing his education in 1892, at Beth-
any College, in Linsburg, Kansas. After securing his education, he removed
to Chicago, Illinois, where he worked at the carpenter's trade imtil 1893,
after which he moved north a short distance to Racine, \\'isconsin, and
secured employment as a deck hand on a steamer, three months later depart-
ing for New York state, where he obtained employment at xarimis kinds of
labor until 1898.
At twenty-seven years of age, in 1898, Maurice Olson began to build
for himself by engaging in agriculture and stock raising, on a farm of one
hundred and sixty acres. In January, 1907, he came to Belle Prairie town-
ship, Morrison county, Minnesota, where he decided to locate permanently
and accordingly purchased two hundred and forty acres of niiiniprovcd land
in section 4 of Belle Prairie township.
On this farm, known as the "Spruce Grove Dairy l'"arm." Maurice
Olson erected suitable l)uildings and ]irepared the soil for crops and the rais-
ing of graded stock, in which line he has become very prominent. The breed-
ing of Shorthorn cattle, Duroc- Jersey hogs and White Leghorn chickens are
his specialties.
On September 12, 1900, Maurice Olson was united in marriage to Jen-
nie M. Lawson, of Clay Center, Kansas, who was born on .\ugust 12. 1882,
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 595
at Leonardville, Kansas. She is the daughter of Charles F. and Emma
(Johnson) Lawson; the former was born in Sweden, in 1859, and, leaving
there with his parents, when about the age of eleven years, crossed the ocean
and settled in Kansas, whese he died in 1894. Emma (Johnson) Lawson,
the mother of Jennie M. (Lawson) Olson, was born in Sweden, November
5, 1864, and her death occurred in 1894. This couple were married on
August 31, 1881.
From the union of Maurice Olson and Jennie M. (Lawson) Olson,
three children were born; Bertha E., born on September 20, 1901 ; Tru-
man M., July 29, 1903, and Violet E., March 18, 19 10.
Maurice Olson is a Democrat and has taken a commendable interest
in public affairs, although he has never aspired to an office for himself. He
is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, of Leonardville, Kansas.
His religious life is with the Swedish Lutheran church, of which he is a mem-
ber and liberal supporter.
Maurice Olson is a man of modern, progressive ideas, vigorous in his
execution, optimistic in his business and public life and mindful of his
duties as a father, husband and citizen. Personally, he is a leader in what-
ever undertaking he pursues and his gentle, yet resolute, nature has caused
him to be loved the most by those who know him best.
JACOB KIEWEL.
One of the most strongly-marked characteristics which the citizens
of this portion of the West possess is the enthusiastic enterprise which over-
leaps all obstacles and makes possible almost any undertaking. It is the
means whereby this section of the country is coming to be placed on a par
with the older East, for into business affairs has entered a reliability and
certainty which was somewhat lacking in the earliest days of this section.
Jacob Kiewel, brewer and retired business man of Little Falls, Mor-
rison county, Minnesota, has demonstrated that he possesses this happy
combination of characteristics. An important point in the career of the
subject of this sketch is the fact that he is one of the few .surviving men
who actively participated in suppressing the famous Sioux Indian outbreak.
He enlisted and served all through the time this tribe was causing such
terror among the frontiersmen, his command going northwest from Man-
kato and he saw in that section many refugees and those massacred in the
region of Lake Shetek and Big Stone. His command went on to Ft.
596 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Thompson and made the return trip, being attacked three times by the
hostile Indians. Of his connection with this picturesque expedition, Mr..
Kievvel has many interesting stories to relate, but the power of the Sioux
is forever broken and in the years which have passed since he made his
last desperate stand, homes and towns have sprung up in the land where
he once spread terror.
Jacob Kiewel was born in Prussia, of the German Empire, near the
city of Friaert, on November i, 1846, a son of John, born in 1812, and
Elizabeth (Ash) Kiewel, born about 1812. John was a cabinetmaker by
trade, a carpenter and builder and also gave much attention to farming.
After coming to this country, however, he gave his undivided attention
to agricultural work. The family emigrated to America in 1856, landing
at the port of New York City, and traveled directly on to St. Paul, where
they remained for only a short time. John Kiewel then took up a piece
of land in Carver county, this state, where he remained for ten years
engaged in farming. He then removed to Stearns county, where he pur-
chased a tract of land located between St. Cloud and Coldspring and there
became an extensive farmer and stock raiser. He died there in 1870 at the
age of fifty-eight years, while his wife Elizabeth, died about 1885. John
Kiewel was a communicant of the Roman Catholic church and a man of
strong personality, whose influence counted for much in the formative years
of this section.
Jacob Kiewel is the second child in a family of eight, the eldest being
Angeline, now Mrs. Artz. The others are John, Katie (Mrs. Lare), Mary
(deceased), Lizzie (Mrs. Medved), Peter and Thresa. Jacob when a toy
in his native land attended its schools, but his school days ended with his
emigration to America, for that portion of Minnesota where the familv
located was then in the early pioneer stages, and no schools were to be had.
With the foundation laid in his early boyhood and with the help of parents,
he further educated himself until he could compete for information with
many men who had excellent higher educations. His earlier years saw
much hard work on the family homestead and boating on the river, as he
remained with his father until twenty-two years of age.
In 1867 Jacob Kiewel started out on his own independent career and
the following year he located in Otter Tail county, where he pre-empted a
homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in what is now Carlisle town-
ship. He proved up his claim, which was nothing but wild land when he
secured it, and in the course of his residence there he greatl\- improved
his farm and erected fine buildings. He lived there most of the time until
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 597
1882. In the fall of 1872 he left the farm temporarily, removing to Moor-
head, where for the following three years he was engaged in the retail
meat business. He disposed of his interests there and returned to his
farm, remaining about three years, when he again left it, going this time to
Alexandria, Douglas county, where he engaged again in the retail butcher
business and also ran a hotel. After something less than a year spent in
that place, he disposed of his interests and went to Fergus Falls, where he
became a part owner in a large brewery. After about three years fire
destroyed that property at a total loss, there being no insurance, and Mr.
Kiewel found himself a heavy financial loser. Nothing daunted, however,
within a few months he purchased an acre of ground, located somewhat
nearer the city than the old site, and proceeded to erect a brewery, himself
being sole owner. That he operated until 1892, when he again suffered loss
by fire, but that time had taken the precaution to protect himself with insur-
ance.
Mr. Kiewel came to Little Falls in 1893 and purchased the brewery
already here, which he practically rebuilt, making it larger and more modern,
and this plant he still operates, although he has practically retired from the
active affairs of life. He still owns, however, the Kiewel Brewing Com-
pany, at Crookston, this state, and has farming interests in various parts of
the state of Minnesota. He was one of the organizers of the Merchants'
State Bank of Little Falls, is a director and heavy stockholder in that
concern. He also owns a number of business blocks in Little Falls and is
regarded as one of the city's ablest financiers.
In 1871 Jacob Kiewel was married to Rosa Middiller, a native of
Switzerland, who came to this country with her family sometime in the
sixties. The family first located in Ohio and later came to Minnesota, find-
ing a suitable location near the city of Minneapolis. To that union has been
born a family of ten children, eight of whom are still living. They are
John, Charles, George, Joseph, Frank, Benjamin, Elizabeth (Mrs. Herman
Pantzke) and Louise.
Mr. Kiewel holds his religious membership with the Lutheran church,
and gives generously of his means toward the support of the local society.
In politics he votes the Democratic ticket, although having always been so
engrossed with his own affairs, he has had no time to give to politics. Suc-
cessful in business, respected in social life, and as a citizen discharging his
duties in a manner becoming a liberal-minded, intelligent man, Mr. Kiewel
is eminently entitled to the high respect in which he is held by business
associates and friends alike.
598 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
OLE A. JOHNSON.
One of the most enterprising young men of Gushing, Morrison county,
Minnesota, is Ole A. Johnson, the immediate subject of this short biograph-
ical sketch. While still in the first Hush of manhood, Mr. Johnson has to
his credit accomplishments and experiences which would well do justice to
a man of greater years. Having done so well with the years which have
been given him, he bids fair to become one of the most influential citizens of
this community, for he has incorporated in his make-up such excellent traits
as a worthy ambition, honesty of purpose and a tireless energy.
Ole A. Johnson was born in Norway on March 21, 1891, son of Carl
F. and Engeberg (Olson) Johnson, who were the parents of thirteen chil-
dren, eleven of whom are living at the present time. Carl F. Johnson was
born in August, 1859, and all the years of his manhood in his native land
were spent as a farm and mining lajjorer. He emigrated to the United
States in 1892, when the immediate subject of this sketch was but a baby,
and came directly to this county, where in section 30, of Gushing township,
he homesteaded a claim of one hundred and sixty acres. He first built a
little log cabin to accommodate his family and set about clearing away the
forest and putting his land into crops. About fourteen years later he built
a frame house, and he and his faithful wife are still residing on the home-
stead and farming it. They now own two hundred acres and have thirty
acres under cultivation.
William Ole A. Johnson left Norway in company with his parents and
two brothers, the other children being John O., who is a clerk, sold his farm
in Gushing township, and William, located at Fargo, North Dakota. OIc A.
attended the district schools of Turtle Greek township. Todd county (the
family homestead being located on the county line) and was early trained
in the work of the farm by his father. When sixteen years of age, he
decided that he did not want to be a farmer and in search of a place for
himself in the world, he worked for a time as a section hand on the railroad,
after which he secured a position as clerk in the general store at Gushing
owned by Mr. Kjeldergaard. .After clerking for one year, he returned to
his father's home and remained with him on the farm until i<)oq when he
returned to Gushing and became a ])artner of Mr. Kjcldergaard's. On May
10, 1915, Mr. Johnson bought out the entire stock of goods and is now
managing the business in his own right. He carries a full line of general
merchandise and is prepared to supply the needs of his fellow citizens. Mr.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 599
Johnson has been made assistant postmaster at Gushing and is one of the
town's estabhshed citizens, as he owns his residence and two lots. He is
also interested in a financial way in the Gushing creamery and is in every
regard a promising }oung citizen.
In 1 910 Ola A. Johnson was married to Sophia Blaxrud, born on Jan-
uary 4, 1887, in Rice county, this state, a daughter of John and Marie
Blaxrud, natives of Norway. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have three children,
namely: Andries S., Gurtis J. and Howard L. Mr. Johnson holds his
religious membership in the Norwegian Lutheran church and gives his polit-
ical support to the Republican party. He is a member of the Yeomanry
organization and evinces a commendable interest in his various associations.
Because of his high personal character and his genuine worth as man and
citizen, he is eminently entitled to specific mention in a work of this char-
acter.
SAMUEL TEDFORD.
Among the residents of Morrison county, Minnesota, who have con-
tributed to its agricultural prosperity, is Samuel Tedford, who has lived
within its boundaries for over twenty years. During that time he has taken
an active interest in every movement started for the betterment of the com-
munity in which he lives. His high ideals of business honesty and his abil-
ity to solve intelligently, those problems which have come up concerning his
own county, have won for him the confidence of fellow citizens and an
enviable place among those who stand for sound principles and true judg-
ment.
Samuel Tedford was born in Glinton county. New York, on April 30,
1874, and is the son of Robert and Sarah (Golvin) Tedford. His father,
Robert Tedford, is a Ganadian by birth but came to New York with his
parents, where he took up the occupation of farming. Sarah Tedford is a
native of Ireland, but left the Emerald Isle when she was just nine years
old, and came to New York, where .she now resides. In 1892, Samuel
Tedford left his native state to take up his residence in Morrison county,
Minnesota. He bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Glough
township, section 12, and spent some time clearing the land of timber and
wild brush. He now has over seventy acres broken up and the fields are
in an excellent state of cultivation. Twenty acres are planted in corn,
thirteen acres in hav and fifteen acres in oats. Apart from this he has
6oO MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
devoted some time to the rearing of cattle, of which he keeps a high-grade
stock. For the purpose of making a thoroughly modern stock farm of his
place he has erected a large barn, measuring thirty-six by forty-four feet,
and has also built a silo. The farm represents everything that is modern
in rural design and stands as a proof of what may be done with a tract of
wilderness. Mr. Ted ford is a shareholder in the Ft. Ripley Creamery Com-
pany.
The marriage of Samuel Tedford and Blanch Cole was solemnized in
1906. Mrs. Tedford lived only a few years after the marriage and passed
away on December 22, 191 1. She was a native of Minnesota, having been
born in Winnebago county, on the 25th of July, 1886. To this union three
children were born, Samuel C, Mary V. and Blanch M. The children are
still living at home. In April, 1913, Mr. Tedford married Ella Bates, a
daughter of Ephraim and Lwetta (Roberts) Bates, who are numbereci
among the pioneer settlers of Morrison county. She was born October 10,
1874, in Randall, Minnesota.
In his political interests Mr. Tedford is affiliated with the Republican
party. He is a zealous member of the Methodist church and contributes
to its support. For two consecutive years he held the office of town super-
visor and served with such success that he was chosen again for the
position in 191 2, seven years later. Mr. Tedford is a member of the Red
Men lodge.
HANS ISAACSON.
Among the foreign-born farmers of Morrison county, Minnesota, few
men have made a larger success of agriculture than Hans Isaacson, a native
of Norway, who, about two years after his marriage, emigrated to America
with his family. He owns three hundred and twenty acres of land in Belle-
vue township, all of which is under cultivation, and raises principally rye
and corn. He also maintains a fine herd of dairy cattle.
Hans Lsaacson was born in Norway on August 2, 1855, the son of
Isaac and Annie Hanson, the former of whom died a few years ago in Nor-
way, and the latter after her husband's death came to America with her chil-
dren.
Having received only a very meager education in the schools of Nor-
way, Hans Isaacson was thrown on his own resources at the age of nine
years. He served in the army when a young man, but as tlie army drilled
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 6oi
only a few weeks each year, he then would return to civil life. Until about
1882, he followed fishing in the northern Atlantic and Arctic oceans and
around Greenland and Iceland. After landing at New York City in 1882,
Mr. Isaacson traveled to Minneapolis. For a few years he worked as a
laborer. When he came to Minnesota no one could understand his peculiar
native name, so he adopted the name Hans Isaacson, as suggested by his
father's first and second name, Isaac Hanson, and he is now known as Hans
Isaacson. After working as a laborer in Minneapolis for a few years, he
received work as a carpenter. He followed this trade for eleven years. He
then moved to Ripley township, Morrison county, Minnesota, and home-
steaded eighty acres of land, later adding eighty acres by purchase adjoin-
ing the first eighty. He was compelled to clear and improve the land and to
erect buildings. He farmed there for about seven years, when he traded
the land for a two-hundred-acre farm in Bellevue township belonging to
J. H. Rhodes. The Rhodes farm was partly improved and a part of it was
boggy and covered with water the entire year. Mr. Isaacson lived in a log
house for four years, and during that time improved the farm, especially
by constructing ditches and draining the swamp land. The entire farm is
now under cultivation. Since coming here he has added forty acres in one
tract and eighty acres in another, which is also entirely under cultivation.
Several years ago he built a modern two-story brick house, and a little later
a commodious barn.
On October 8, 1880, two years before coming to America. Hans Isaac-
son was married in Norway to Elizabeth Olson, a native of Norway, who
has borne him eight children, as follow : Isaac, Gilbert, Jennie, Elmer,
Charles, Clara, Edwin and George. Of these children, Isaac is engaged in
the railroad business on the Soo line. Gilbert, who is a farmer, owns one
hundred and twenty acres of land in Bellevue township. Jennie is the wife
of Sidney Smith, of Oregon, and they have one child, Jessie. Elmer and
Charles are farmers in Little Falls township. Elmer owns one hundred and
eighteen acres and Charles one hundred and sixty acres. The remainder of
the children are living at home with their parents and assist with the work
of the farm.
Mr. Isaacson gives his political affiliation as that of an independent
Republican. When living in Ripley township he served as school director
of district No. 50 for seven years. He also served as school director in
Bellevue township for three years. Mr. and Mrs. Isaacson and family are
members of the Lutheran church.
602 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
REV. MICHAEL SCHERER.
Prominent in Catholic circles in and around Buckman, Morrison county,
Minnesota, where he is pastor of St. Michael's church, and much beloved in
church circles of Stearns county, this state, where the greater portion of his
life has been passed, is the Rev. Michael Scherer, to a short sketch of whose
career the attention of the reader is now directed.
Michael Scherer was born at Altensdorf, Bavaria, Germany, on Sep-
tember 22, 1876, and was baptized in the parish church at Hebramsdorf on
the following day. His parents were John and Theresa Scherer, the father
being engaged in farming. When five years of age he entered the elemen-
tary schools, and at the age of eleven years emigrated with his parents to
the United States. They moved directly to Stearns county, this state, arriv-
ing at St. Joseph on May 12, 1888. The family immediately secured a
location near Collegeville, but in the fall of that first year moved to a farm
near Coldspring. Young Michael attended the public schools in the vicinil)-
of his home and after completing his studies there worked on the farm for
some years with his father. However, he had higher ambitions in life than
the duties and opportunities of the agriculturist oft'ered, worthy as they may
be, and with the earnest desire to render to mankind the greatest possible
service, that of spiritual counsellor and friend, he entered St. John's College,
conducted by the Benedictine Fathers, in November, 1895, pursuing the
classical course at that institution of learning. Being graduated therefrom,
he, in 1901, entered the renowned seminary of St. John's University. Col-
legeville, Minnesota, in which institution he mastered the complete philoso-
phical and theological courses and was ordained to the holy priesthood on
the 9th of June, 1906, by the Rt. Rev. James Trobec, D. D., Ijashop of St.
Cloud.
heather Scherer celebrated his first hoi}- mass on June 14, iqo6. at Cold-
spring. His first ecclesiastic duties were performed in the parish of St.
.Anthony, Stearns county, Minnesota, where he was sent as assistant pastor
until September of that year, when he received the appointment of assistant
in the cathedral at St. Cloud. While in that position he attended to the
spiritual wants of the inmates of the state reformatory, located near that
place, finding there a rich field for the broad sympathy and Iirotherly under-
-standing which lias endeared him to the hearts of his people wherever his
ministrations have been given. l-"ather Scherer also labored at the mission
on I'^.lk river, in Sherburn county, this state, and much of the healthy growth
of the work there was due to the untiring effort which he put fortli in behalf
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 603
of that people. Father Scherer's next work lay at Padua, Stearns county,
being assigned on July 3, 1910, to the pastorate of the church of St. Anthony
at that place. He remained there until June 20, 1913, on which date he took
charge of the work at St. Mark's church. Clear Lake, Minnesota, and on
February 23, 1915, he was appointed pastor of St. Michael's church at
Buckman, Morrison county.
While not having given as many years to the priesthood as many of
his colleagues. Father Scherer can boast of such opportunity and experience
as does not always fall to the lot of a pastor with so few years to his credit,
and it can truthfully be said of him that his various duties have been dis-
charged in a manner most pleasing to all who have been under his watchful
care. He is endowed with such qualities as especially fit him for the great
course which he chose in life and his great influence for good will never be
known this side of the shores of eternity.
HARRY MILTON LOGAN.
Harry Milton Logan, proprietor of the well-known confectionei^y store
of Royalton, Morrison county, Minnesota, and a mail carrier in Morrison
county, was born on February 11, 1867, in Greenville, Pennsylvania, the son
of John D. and Mary J. (Walker) Logan.
John D. Logan was born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, August
2, 1838. In 1855, when seventeen years old, he came to Minnesota, set-
tling at Northfield, where he took a claim at the edge of the present city.
Afterward, he sold out, and in April, 1861, enlisted in Company G, First
Regiment. Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, as a private. He was discharged
for disability in 1864, having suffered a sun-stroke near Falmouth, Virginia.
John D. Logan fought in both battles of Bull Run, Chancellorsville,
Fredericksburg. Antietam, Fair Oaks, Savage Station. Seven Days, in fact,
all the battles of the Army of the Potomac until disabled.
After the war, John D. Logan returned to Greenville, Pennsylvania,
where he was engaged as a stationary engineer until he took up contracting
and building. On August 2, 1864, he was married, and thereafter, until
1872, lived in Greenville, operating a planing mill at Orangeville and Hub-
bard, Ohio, after leaving Greenville. In 1874 he sold out at Hubbards, and
removed to West Middlesex, Pennsylvania, where for five years he operated
a saw and planing mill. When the mill burned, he removed to Royalton,
arriving here on June 12, 1879. Here he built a saw and planing mill.
604 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES^ MINNESOTA.
which he operated until it was destroyed by fire in 1883. He had no insur-
ance. In the meantime, in 1879, he had laid out the original townsite of
Royalton, covering about twenty acres of land owned by himself. The first
house was built in 1879, and was a frame house. A store was also built
in the same year on the site of the present Commercial hotel. The town
has been growing steadily ever since, and has a population, according to
the 1910 census, of six hundred and seventy-six.
In 1887 Mr. Logan began the operation of the mill at Lincoln, Morri-
son county, which he continued for four years in partnership with his son,
Harry Milton Logan. In November, 1891, the mill at Lincoln burned with-
out insurance. After selling his personal property, John D. Logan retired
from active business, and, being taken ill about this time, passed through a
long period of sickness. He died in August, 1907, at the age of sixty-nine
years. A Republican in politics, he was president of the village council and
chairman of the first school board of this district and also for several years
thereafter. He was chairman of the board of supervisors of Belle \'iew
township, and was a member of the Presbyterian church. He was a member
of the Masonic lodge and the Grand Army of the Republic. His wife, who
was born at Mercer, Pennsylvania, June 30, 1841, lived at Mercer until
her marriage. She was the mother of five children, three of whom grew
to manhood. Harry Milton was the eldest. The others are Frank B. and
Charles W.
Harry Milton Logan was educated in the public schools of Pennsylvania
and at Royalton, Minnesota, coming to Royalton when twelve years old.
Until he was twenty-six years old he assisted his father and during the
last three years of this period was in partnership with him in operating the
saw-mill. When twenty-seven years old, Mr. Logan began shifting for him-
self. He learned the painter's trade and followed the trade until 1903. when
he started the confectionery store on Center street, which he has operated
successfully ever since.
On December 24, 1892, Harry Milton Logan was married to Martha
A. Conner, who was born in Davis county, Iowa, January 20, 1869. Mrs.
Logan is the daughter of Lee W. and Sarah (Evans) Conner, the former
of whom was born and reared in West Virginia, and the latter of whom
was born and reared in Indiana. They lived in Iowa until 1903, when they
came to Royalton. Mrs. Logan came to Royalton in July, 1892, and was
married soon afterward. Mr. and Mrs. Logan have had six childreni.
Those living are: Mary E., Mildred M., Florence H. and Harry Milton, Jr.
Two died in infancy.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 605
In 1904 Mr. Logan was appointed as rural mail carrier and has been
engaged in the civil service every since. In 1894 he was elected as recorder
of the village of Royalton and served two years. In 1905 he was a member
of the school board of district No. 40. He has been chief of the fire depart-
ment for the past fourteen years, and is a honorary life member of the State
Fireman's x\ssociation. He is secretary of the Fire Department Relief Asso-
ciation, and has served since its organization in 1908. He is also secretary
of the engine (fire) company No. i, and has served in this capacity for
the past sixteen years. Since the year 1895, ^^^ '^^s been agent for the Fire
Insurance Company of North America and the Phoenix Fire Insurance Com-
pany of Hartford. During the fourteen years preceding 1906, he was a
notary public.
Mr. Logan is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons. He is a
Knights Templar, and is the present master of the blue lodge. He is also
a past noble grand in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a mem-
ber of the Modern Woodmen of America, and has been clerk of the local
lodge since 1900. In politics he is a Republican.
MATHIAS T. MONSON.
To a great extent the prosperity of the agricultural sections of our
state is due to the honest industry, the sturdy persistence, the unswerving-
perseverance and the wise economy which so prominently characterize the
farming element of the great state of Minnesota. Among this class may be
mentioned the subject of this life record, who by reason of years of honest
labor and wise management has not only acquired a well-merited material
prosperity, but has also richly earned the highest esteem of all with whom
he is associated.
Mathias T Monson, successful farmer and stockman of Darling town-
ship, Morrison county, Minnesota, is a native of the "land of the midnight
sun" — born in Norway on July 17, 1853, a son of Thomas and Mary
(Olson) Monson. There were in all eight children in the Monson family,
the immediate subject of this sketch being the fourth child in order of birth
and a babe of one year when the parents with their little family emigrated
to this country. The eldest of the family is Martha, wife of J. A. Johnson,
residing in La Crosse county, Wisconsin : Jane, the second child, is deceased.
Olena is Mrs. A. Nel.son. and also lives in Wisconsin, as do John, Bertha
(Mrs. J. Skogen), Ole and Helen, wife of A. Skogen.
6o6 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Thomas Monson was born in Norway in 1821, and in 1853 left his
native land with his little family. They moved directly to Wisconsin, where
the father engaged in farming. He purchased a tract of land from the gov-
ernment, paying fifty dollars for forty acres. He gave some of the best
years of his life to getting this land in a proper state of cultivation and
succeeded so well that he, was able to retire from the active duties of life
about fifteen years prior to his death, which occurred in 1903. A few years
previous, in 1899, the mother had died. She was also a native of Norway,
bom in the same year as her husband, 1821.
When Mathias T. Monson was a child he attended the district schools
near his home in La Crosse county. Wisconsin, where his father had located,
and remained with his parents until eighteen years of age. From earlv bov-
hood he had asssisted his father with the work of the home, but when he
arrived at young manhood he felt the call of the outside world. He became
a lumberman, working in the timber and in rafting logs on the waters of
the Black ri\er. In 1877 he returned home and purchased the homestead
from his father and for the following four years he was engaged in the
management of the same. He, however, desired to return to the life of the
forests and gave the farm back to his father. For the next several years he
was engaged in various kinds of work, among them farming, and on July
28, 1893, he located in Randall, Morrison county, where he has since made
his home.
Mr. Monson purchased a tract of land containing eighty acres in section
g, of Darling township, same being at that time absolutely unimproved, and
he gave himself to the task of making a fine homestead of it. He was pro-
gressing nicely with his undertaking when, at the end of the first year, he
had the misfortune to lose his wife. This so disheartened him that lie left
his farm and again engaged in the work of the timber. He remained there
until 1899. when he returned to his farm in Morrison county and began
making im])ro\ements. He erected a comfc^rtable home, twenty-four bv
twent\'-six feet, one story and a iialf, and built a line barn, fifty-six l)y thirty-
two fert. lie also ])ul ui) a silo and wind-mill and became engrossed in stock
raising and the farming incidental thereto. He is at the present time tilling
about fourteen acres, with twenty acres in hay, and each year he has a goodly
ntunber of cattle ready for the markets, lie raises graded stock only and
has ])rogressed rem.arkably well in his undertakin,g. In addition to his
private business, he is one of the larger shareholders in the Randall Co-
operative Creamery Company and is one of the substantial citizens of his
community, deeply interested in all that concerns the advancement of every
phase of community life.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 60/
Mathias T. Monson has been twice married. His first wife was .Minnie
Peterson, born in 1861, and to whom he was married in 1879. She died in
1893, having been the mother of nine children. All are dead with the
exception of one, a daughter, Emma, who hves in Wisconsin. iu)r his
second wife. Mr. Monson married, in 1898, Carohne Borreson, born on
December 28, 1S68, in La Crosse county, Wisconsin, a daughter of Nels and
Karen O. (Sveum) Borreson, both natives of Norway. They emigrated
to this country in 1866, and the mother is still living at Holmen, Wisconsin,
the father ha\-ing passed away some years ago. The last marriage is with-
out issue.
Mr. Monson is a faithful member of the Lutheran church, contributing
liberally of his means to the support of same, and his political preference is
for the Republican party. He has always evinced a particular interest for
the educational work of his section, and for three years .served district No.
37, of Darling township, as clerk. There is very much that is commendable
in Mr. Monson's career, for he has been found true to every dutv, whether
of a public or private nature, and while energy and untiring industry have
been salient features of his career, he is equally well known for his upright-
ness and honorable methods in all his transactions as well as lovalty to any
trust imposed in him. Because of his genial and unassuming (.lisposition and
his genuine worth, he is in every respect worthy of the pleasing regard in
which he is held by a large circle of personal friends and business acquaint-
ances.
CARL J. ERICKSON.
A native of Duluth, Minnesota, Carl J. Erickson, a prosperous farmer
and merchant of L^psala, Morrison county, Minnesota, was born on Septem-
ber 29, 1888
Carl J. Erickson is the son of John A. and Sophia (Mill) Erickson.
The father was born in Sweden in 1863, and, when a young luan came to
America, settling in Duluth, Minnesota, where he was married. Soon after-
ward he was induced to enter the stone contracting business, and during
the ne.xt few vears built a number of larger Iniildings in Duluth. In 1888
lohn .\. Erickson came to Elmdale township and purchased one hundred
acres of improved land. Since then he has added eighty acres of land to his
farm holdings, but the second tract is located in St. Louis county. He is
still engaged in farming. Mrs. John A. Erickson, also a native of Sweden,
6o8 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
who, after coming to America, settled in Duluth, has borne her husband
thirteen children, of whom four, namely: Josephine, the eldest; Rudulph,
the fifth born; Esther, the tenth born; and Esther, the eleventh born, are
deceased. The living children are as follow : William ; Olga, who married
Fred Udseth; Charles, the subject of this sketch; Helma, who married
August Melander; August, George, David, Ethel and Ellen.
Having come to Morrison county, Minnesota, with his parents when
an infant only si.x weeks old, Carl J. Erickson received his education in the
Elmdale district school. He lived at home with his father, assisting upon
the farm until Iwenty-two years of age, at which age he entered the general
mercantile business at Holdingford. Stearns county. After being in business
for one year, he sold out and came to Upsala, opening a store here in 1912.
On January 17, 1913, Carl J. Erickson was married to Esther Peterson,
a native of St. Hilaire. Minnesota, born on .\pril 26, 1892. Mrs. Erickson
is the daughter of the Rev. John and Anna (Boe) Peterson. The father,
who was bom in Sweden, came to America when a young man ami a little
later settled in Minnesota, where he was married. As he has been a Con-
gregational minister he has lived in many different places, but is now a
resident of Upsala. His wife is a native of Norway, who came to America
with her ])arcnts. She has borne her husband six children. David. Enoch,
Lydia, Esther, Mary and Waldo.
Mr. Erickson has sold his store in Upsida and devotes his attention to
eighty acres of land in section 28, of Elmdale township, which comprises
a highly improved farm, all under cultivation.
Mr. Erickson votes the Republican ticket. He and his wife are mem-
bers of the Lutheran church.
REV. SIGISMOND SUSZCZYNSKI.
Morrison county, Minnesota, has been the home and the scene of the
labors of many men who not only have led lives which have served as a
lesson and an inspiration to those who follow them on the stage of life's
activities, but whose influence while living is most wholesome for the com-
munity. Rev. Sigismond Suszczynski is a man of well-rounded character,
sincere, devoted and loyal. A man who has been well-educated for the
ministry and who is one of the learned priests of the Catholic church in this
state.
REV. SIGISMOND STSZCZYNSKI
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 609
Sigismond Susczcynski was born on September 30, 1865, in German
Poland, the son of Julian and Angela (Kempinska) Suszczynski, the former
of whom was born in 1836 and the latter was bom in 1846 in German
Poland. Julian Suszczynski was superintendent of a farm machinery fac-
tory in his native land, where he was connected with a large plant, with
branches in a number of adjoining towns. He spent all his life in his native
land, his death occurring in Poland about 1900, at the age of sixty-four
years. His wife is still living in Poland, and is now seventy years of age.
They were the parents of fourteen children, of whom Sigismond is the
eldest. The maternal grandfather of Rev. Sigismond Suszczyski was clerk
of one of the higher courts in Poland.
Of the fourteen children born to Julian Suszczynski and wife one died
in infancy and one died when twenty-six years of age. Two are priests,
four are teachers, one is a musician and composer, one is a physician and
major in the German army, another fills practically the same position, and
still another is an architect. Anna is a musician and composer, and lives in
Binghamton, New York. Mary is a teacher, Charles is a priest, Roman is
a physician and major in the German army. Irene, Frances and Thecla are
teachers. Lucian is an architect. Joseph is in the army. Johanna is the
wife of C. Lewandowski and Stanislaus is a surgeon in the army.
Father Sigismond Suszczynski received his early education in the com-
mon schools of his native land, and later attended high school and college
in Posen, Poland. In 1887 he went to Rome, where he attended the College
of Rome and the University of St. Appolinaris, finishing his education in
October, 1890.
After advancing his educational training. Father Suszczynski started
for the United States, landing at New York, from Antwerp, Belgium. After
locating in Erie, Pennsylvania, he continued his studies there and also in
the Seminary of Bonaventure, Allegany, New York, where he studied the
English language for orte year. On January i, 1892, he was ordained at
Erie, Pennsylvania, to the priesthood by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Tobias Mullen.
After remaining at Erie for two years he came to St. Cloud, Minnesota, in
1895, ^"*^1 was first stationed at Duclm. Benton county, where he remained
for one year. In 1895 he was moved to Swan River, where he built the St.
Stanislaus church, which was erected at a cost of more than twenty thousand
dollars. While there he also built a parochial school which housed one
hundred and eighty children, but this building was later destroyed by fire.
(39)
6lO MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
After remaining at the St. Stanislaus church for six years, Father
Suszczynski became pastor of St. Anna, where he built the church of the
Blessed Virgin and where he remained about three years. This church is a
magnificent edifice, costing twenty-two thousand dollars. The estimated
cost of the building contract was forty thousand dollars. From St. Anna
Father Suszcznski went to Alberta, Benton county, Minnesota, where he
was pastor for one and one-half years of St. Casimer. After closing his
pastorate at the latter church he was sent to take charge of the church of the
Blessed Virgin, at Opole, Stearns county, this state, where he remained five
years.
In 191 1 Father Suszcznski came to North Prairie as pastor of the Holy
Cross church, and is now in charge of this parish. He has done a noble
work in behalf of the Christian religion in the various communities he has
served, and everywhere he has left with the good wishes of his parishioners
and regrets that he could not serve them longer.
SILAS T. BENNETT.
Among those persons who have, by virtue of their own individual
qualities, earned their way to a position of confidence and respect in the
estimation of their fellow citizens, the subject of this sketch may well be
classed. Silas T. Bennett started out in life in a very humble way and has
through his own perseverance and honorable methods won for himself the
pleasing degree of material success which is his, and has also so ordered his
life as to win the approval of his fellow-men and to be entrusted with
the discharge of certain civic duties.
Silas T. Bennett, a resident of Parker township, Morrison county. Min-
nesota, was born in New York state, March 30, 1859, a son of John ami
Maria (Stephenson) Bennett. There were originally thirteen childnn 111
the family, three of whom have passed away. The parents are 1)oth deceased,
Mr. Bennett's mother was born in Canada and his father was a native of the
Emerald Isle, who emigrated to this country when quite a young man. After
li\'ing in the I'.ast for a few years, he came westward and located in Michi-
gan at the time when the immediate subject of this sketch was a small boy.
Silas T. Bennett started out in life for himself when only eleven vcars
of age and for ten years worked as a farm hand on farms near liis home in
Michigan. After his father's death he returned to his home and for the
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 6ll
following eight years rented the home place from his mother. After her
death he left Michigan and located in Wright county, Iowa, where he
farmed until 1896, when he became a citizen of Morrison county, Minne-
sota. Upon coming here, Mr. Bennett purchased eighty acres of unim-
proved land in section 22, of Parker township, for which he paid the sum of
three dollars per acre. He first built a log house in which he lived for a
time while he busied himself with clearing up a portion of his ground, and
later replaced that dwelling with a frame house. He had the misfortune to
have that house destroyed by fire, after which he put up a small frame struc-
ture, in which he has since lived. He has sixty acres under cultivation and
is uniformly successful with his crops. As a side issue, he raises a few
head of cattle each year for the market, having at the present titne thirteen
head and five head of horses. A few years ago Mr. Bennett gave con-
siderable attention to raising sheep, but of later years has displaced them
with cattle, which he finds less troublesome and more productive.
Mr. Bennett is a stanch supporter of the Republican party and has
served efficiently two terms as road supervisor of Parker township. He
has always led a quiet, well-regulated and honest life, which has gained
for him the respect of a pleasing number of friends and in view of his
worthy citizenship, he is justly entitled to specific mention in a history of the
county favored with his residence.
FRANK B. LOGAN.
The fact is well authenticated that success is the result of well-applied
energy, unfailing determination and perseverance. In fact, success is never
known to smile upon the "idler or dreamer and never courts the loafer. Only
those who have diligently sought her favor are crowned with her blessing.
Frank B, Logan, the proprietor of the only jewelry store in Royalton and
one of the board of managers of the Minnesota State Fair y\ssociation, has
risen to his present prominent position in the business life of Royalton and
in the pubhc life of the state of Minnesota by devoting himself carefully and
consistently to each step in the ladder of success. From year to year he has
mounted higher and higher until now he is one of the best-known citizens
of Morrison county. Beginning about nine years ago as the decorator of
the Morrison county exhibit at the Minnesota state fair, he has risen year
by year and step by step to his present honorable position, as a member of
6l2 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
the board of managers and superintendent of the agricultural department
at the state fair.
Frank B. Logan was born on September i, 1871, at Greenville, Penn-
sylvania, the son of John D. and Mary J. (Walker) Logan. John D. Logan
was born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, on August" 2. 1838, and in
1855, when seventeen years old, came to Minnesota, settling at Northfield,
where he took a claim at the edge of the present city of Northfield. He
sold out afterward, and in 1861 enlisted in Company G, First Regiment,
Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, as a private. He was discharged for dis-
ability in 1864, having suffered a sunstroke near Falmouth, Virginia. He
fought in the battles of Bull Run, Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Antie-
tam, Fair Oaks, Savage Station, Seven Days, and, in fact, all the battles of
the Army of the Potomac, up to the time of his discharge.
After the war, John D. Logan returned to Greenville. Pennsylvania,
where he was engaged as a stationary engineer until he took up house build-
ing under contract. On August 2, 1864, he was married, and thereafter,
until 1872, lived in Greenville, operating a planing-mill at Orangeville, Ohio,
after leaving Greenville. Tn 1874 he sold out at Orangeville, Ohio, and
removed to West Middlesex, Pennsyhania, where he lived for five years and
operated a saw-mill. When the mill burned, he removed to Royalton,
Minnesota, arriving here on June 12, 1879. Here he built a saw and planing-
mill, which he operated until it was destroyed by fire in 18S3. There was
no insurance. In the meantime, in 1879, he had laid out the original town-
site of Royalton, covering about twenty acres of land which he owned. The
first house was built in 1879 — it was a frame house. A store was also built
in the same year on the site of the ])resent Merchants hotel.
In 1886 Mr. Logan began the operation of a mill at Lincoln, Morrison
county, which he continued for five years in partnership with his son, Harrv
Milton Logan In November, 1891. the mill at Lincoln burned. After
selling his personal property, Mr. Logan retired fnmi active business, and,
being taken ill about this time, passed through a long period of sickness.
He died in August, 1907, at the age of sixty-nine years. A Republican in
politics, lie was the first president of the village council and chairman of the
first .school board of this district for several years. He was al.-^o chairman
of the board of supervisors of Bcllcvue township. John D. Logan was a
member of the Presbyterian church. He was a member of the Masonic
lodge and the Grand Army of the Republic. His wife, wlici. before her
marriage, was Mary J. Walker, was loom at Mercer, Pennsylvania, on lune
30, 184T, and lived at Mercer until her marriage. She died in iqij. Mr.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 613
and Mrs. Logan had five children, three of whom grew to manhood, as
follow; Harry Milton; Frank B., the subject of this sketch, and Charles W.
Frank B. Logan was the third child born to his parents. He was edu-
cated in the district schools of Royalton and, after completing his education,
worked with his father in the lumber business until twenty years old, when
he entered the Bradley Polytechnic School, at Peoria, Illinois learning the
watchmaker's trade. He was graduated from the Bradley Polytechnic
School in 1894, and in the fall of that year opened a small jewelry store at
Royalton in one of the Wilson buildings on Center street, where he remained
about one year, when the store burned. It was a very disastrous blow to
Mr. Logan, but by renewed effort and hard work he was soon able to open
another jewelry store in the building now owned by H. M. Logan, his
brother. He was located here for nine years, until 1904, when he removed
to the site he now occupies, greatly increasing his stock. He has the only
jewelry store in Royalton.
Frank B. Logan was married to Henrietta Dragoo, who was born at
Morris, Minnesota, in 1874, and when a young woman came to Royalton
with her parents. She died in 191 1, after having given birth to six children,
all of whom are living.
In 1906 Frank B. Logan was sent to the state fair to decorate the Mor-
rison county exhibit. It was his initial experience in the work of the state
fair. The next year he took charge of the exhibit of Morrison county and
took second prize on the exhibit. The succeeding three years, 1908-9-10.
he had charge of the exhibit and won first prize each year for Morrison
county. In iqoj he organized the Minnesota County Exhibitors' Associa-
tion, Incorporated, and was elected its first president. He held this position
as long as he was an exhibitor, until 1910. In 191 1 he was appointed assist-
ant superintendent of the agricultural department of the state fair and held
the same office in iqi2. In 1913 he was appointed superintendent of the
agricultural department and held this position during 1914. In January,
1915, at the annual meeting of the State Agricultural Society, he was elected
a member of the board of managers of the Minnesota State Fair Association
for a term of three years. During the present year he not only is supervisor
of the horticultural department but retains his position as suijerintendent of
the agricultural department.
Mr. Logan is a Republican. In 1904 he was elected clerk of Bellevue
township, and is still holding this position. He was president of the board
of education of independent district No. 40 for three years, but declined to
run again.
6l4 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
OLE SJODIN.
One of the progressive wide-awake citizens of Elmdale township, Mor-
rison county, Minnesota, is the man whose name forms the caption of this
article. Mr. Sjodin is progressive, possessed of unusual foresight and a
determination to succeed which will brook no obstacles. The manner in
which he is coming into his own might well serve as an object lesson to
young men who have their own way to make in life, and being a man of
kindly disposition he has made many friends who gladly accord him the
recognition he so justly deserves.
Ole Sjodin was born in the northern part of Sweden on April 30, 1869,
being a son of Peter O. and Kate Sjodin, both natives of that country.
Peter O. was a farmer and all of his three children were reared under that
environment. All emigrated to the United States, leaving the parents at
home, and father and mother came across the water a few weeks later to
be with their children. Ole, the immediate subject of this sketch, did not
take to farm work and for a few years was proprietor of a grocery store
in his native land, later being in the contract lumber business. In 1903
he emigrated to the United States, with his wife and one boy. He landed
at the port of Boston and from there journeyed on to Little Falls, this state.
He hired a livery rig to carry him to Upsala and after paying for same,
he had just seventy-five cents between him and starvation. For a few weeks
he worked on various farms in the vicinity of Upsala and began looking
about for a place to locate. He found a place just over the line in Stearns
county which he made arrangements to purchase, containing forty acres.
That winter he went to the woods to work and for several succeeding
winters he labored in the woods, cutting timber by contract. He was not
working in any haphazard manner, but was carefully figuring ahead and in
19 10 he was able to purchase one hundred acres of land in Elmdale town-
ship, Morrison county, where he has since made his home. Mr. Sjodin is
devoting his best energies to the breeding and raising of live stock, special-
izing in Poland China hogs. He has about sixty head at present in addi-
tion to some milk cows and the other necessary live stock. All his farm
is under hog-wire fence and is in good repair, the appearance of the whole
place attesting the capability of the owner. Nearly all the land is under
cultivation and this fact together with the substantial appearance of the
buildings, mark it as one of the best farms of the community.
Mr. Sjodin is a devout member of the Lutheran church and he gives
his political support to the Republican party. He is also a member of the
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 615
Elmdale Shippers' Association and is interested in many other plans for the
advancement of community interests. In attaining the degree of success
which is his, Mr. Sjodin has overcome some obstacles which might well have
daunted him, but each fresh opposition seemed to act merely as an incentive
to press still harder toward his goal. He is the happy possessor of such a
combination of characteristics as is bound to win not only material success,
but the high regard of his fellow citizens as well.
Mr. Sjodin was married in his native land to Anna Batha Perion, their
marriage being solemnized on July 6, 1896. To their union have come si.x
children : Willie, Edwin, Verner, Monf red, Lilly and Elsa, the five young-
est being born in this country.
ELWIN H. WISE.
Among the prosperous farmers and stockmen of Parker township, Mor-
rison county, Minnesota, is Elwin H. Wise, who owns a comfortable home
five and one-half miles from Randall and who has sixty acres under culti-
vation in Parker township.
Elwin H. Wise is a native of Faribault county, Minnesota, born on
July II, 1879. He is the son of Elbert and Mary (Andross) Wise, the
former of whom was born in 1858 in Wisconsin. They had three children,
Elwin H., the subject of this sketch; Monty, of Martin county, Minnesota;
and Floyde, of Parker township.
Reared on a farm, Elwin H. Wise was educated in the district schools
of Faribault county. When twenty-one years old he rented land in Fari-
bault county for two years and later immigrated to Martin county, Minne-
sota, and rented land for ten years. In 1913 he removed to Morrison county
and purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land in section 16, of
Parker township. Thirty acres of the farm had already been cultivated
and some four thousand dollars had been invested in various kinds of
improvements. He now owns two hundred acres of land in Parker town-
ship. Mr. Wise keeps a very high grade of live stock, especially Shorthorn
cattle. At the present time he has eighteen acres of corn and four acres
in alfalfa, as well as fifteen acres in oats.
In 1902 Elwin H. Wise was married to Zorah Hodgman, who was
bom in 1881 at Pleasant Prairie, Martin county, Minnesota, and who is a
daughter of Amerson and Henrietta (Hill) Hodgman, the former of whom
6l6 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
was born in Onondaga county, New York, on November 4, 1829, of German
and French lineage. He was a farmer by occupation and homesteaded one
hundred and sixty acres of land in Martin county, Minnesota, in 1864. He
remained in Martin county until his death on September 27, 1913. Amerson
Hodgman was a soldier in the Civil War, enlisting in Company H. First
Minnesota Heavy Artillery in 1865. After the close of the war he returned
to his home and farmed until his death. Amerson Hodgman had been mar-
ried previous to his marriage to Henrietta Hill. By his first marriage there
were born eight children and by the second marriage there were born three
children, all daughters. Mrs. Wise was the youngest child born to the last
marriage. Her mother died in 1883 at the age of about thirty-five years.
Mrs. Wise received a good common-school education and was graduated
from the high school at Granada, Minnesota. She has borne her husband
three children, Thelma, Evon and Theo, all of whom are at home with their
parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Elwin H. Wise and family are members of the Presby-
terian church. Mr. Wise is independent in politics and has held various
offices of trust and responsibility in Morrison county.
JOHN P. MUELLER.
John P. Mueller, a successful merchant of Buckman township, Morrison
county, Minnesota, was born on September 29, 1883, in Schilling, Germany,
and is a son of Adam and Elizabeth (Midiels) Mueller, both of wh(jm were
born, reared and married in Germany. They came to the United States in
1884, and after landing at New York City they came directly to Buckman
township, Morrison count)', Minnesota. In his native land .-\dam Mueller
followed the occupation of a vvagonmaker, but after arriving in Minnesota
he purchased forty acres of land, where he still lives. Later, however, he
bought one hundred and twenty acres, but has since sold this last farm. He
is engaged in general farming and stock raising. Mrs. Elizabeth (Midiels)
Mueller died in 1894, at the age of thirty-eight years, leaving her husband
and eleven children, John being the fourth child in order of birth.
Jcihn I^. Mueller was less than a year old when brought to the United
States by his parents, who settled in Buckman townshi]). He received his
education in the public schools of that township, and lived with his parents
until he reached the age of twenty-two years, assisting with the work of the
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 617
farm as soon as old enough. In 1905 he began doing mason work in Buck-
man township, a trade which he followed for four years. .Vt the age of
twenty-six he purchased, in partnership with his brother, a general store in
Buckman, which they still operate.
In 1912 John I*. Mueller built a house and barn on the same lot where
his brother lives, and the same year was married to Mary Deuzen, a native
of Buckman township, born on the 24th of May, 1887, the daughter of
William and Emma (Baltis) Denzen, the former of whom was a native (if
Germany, and the latter was born in Wisconsin. Some time after their
marriage Mr. and Mrs. Denzen located in Buckman. John P. Mueller and
wife are the parents of two children, one of whom died in infancy, while
the other, Roman, is still living.
Mr. and Mrs. Mueller are active members of the St. Michart's church.
^Ir. Mueller votes the Democratic ticket in local state and national elections.
NELS PERSON.
Xels Person, a successful farmer of Elmdale township, Morrison
county, Minnesota, is a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, born on September
16, 1883, the son of Ole and Engred (Johnson) Person. The father was
born in Sweden and came to America when a young man, settling a little
later in St. Paul, where he was married. .After two years, having worked
in various odd jobs, he was employed in the gas plant. Altogether Ole
Person lived in St. Paul for about eight years. He then moved to Elmdale
township and bought eighty acres of land, to which he subsequently added
forty acres. He is still engaged in farming and stock raising. His wife,
who is a native of Sweden, came to the United States alone and settled in
St. Paul, where she met her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Ole Person have had
si-x children, of whom two, Mary and an infant, are deceased. The living
children are : Nels ; Thea, who married Ale.x .'\ndcrson ; .Alma, who mar-
ried John .\nderson: and .Anna. Air. and Mrs. Ole Person are memliers of
the Lutheran church. Mr. Person is a Repui)lican. and during the ]>ast six-
teen vears or more has been treasurer of the local school board.
Xels Person completed his education in the public school of Upsala,
and after leaving school worked at home on the farm until reaching his
majority, when he bought forty acres of land at .section 29, in h^lmdale
township. The land had never been plowed. A few years later Mr. Person
6l8 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
added forty acres of land in the same section adjoining his original tract.
Still later he purchased another forty acres in section 29, adjoining the
eighty. A major part of the farm is now under cultivation. Mr. Person is
engaged in farming and stock raising.
In the spring of 1915 Mr. Person, in partnership with his brother-in-
law, Ale.x Anderson, built a new frame structure in Upsala, where the
Anderson implement and harness business is housed. The building is fifty
by fifty feet.
Nels Person is identified with the Republican party. With his parents
and all of the famih- he is a memljer of the Lutheran church.
HANS NELSON.
There are few farmers living in Morrison county, Minnesota, who
have made a larger success of agriculture than Hans Nelson, a prosperous
farmer of Rosing township. When Mr. Nelson came to Morrison county,
Minnesota, he had only about two hundred dollars in money and with this
money he purchased a yoke of oxen, which he used on the farm the first
year. His first team of horses was a pair of bronchos, which he purchased
frum a liveryman in Motley. The price was one hundred and sixty dollars
and of this he paid thirty-five dollars cash, money he had made in the wheat
fields of the Dakotas. For the remainder of the purchase price he traded
rails and wood. . This business transaction is in striking contrast with his
present prosperity, since he now owns four hundred and eighty acres of
land, one hundred and sixty acres of which is in cultivation and upon which
he has invested eight thousand dollars in impro\ements.
Hans Nelson is a native of Sweden, born on February i, 1851. He is
the son of Nels and Ivathcrine (Person) Nelson. Mr. Nelson's father was
born about 1823, in Sweden, and died in his native land in 1899. His mother
was born in 1829, in Sweden, and died in 1863. They had five children,
of whom two, Benta and C'hristian, died in their native land. The three
remaining children, Hans, the subject of this sketch ; Nels Winberg and
Martin, reside in America. Nels Winberg Nelson is a shoemaker in Des
Moines, Iowa. Martin is a farmer in Martin county, Minnesota.
Mr. Nelson was thirty-five years old when he left Sweden on July
27, 1886, for .America. He settled first in Canada and worked in the mines
there for three years. Later he worked in the Michigan mines ft>r a tiTue.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 619
and in 1894 came to Morrison county and homesteaded one hundred and
sixty acres of land in section 32, of Rosing township. At the time he put
up a small log cabin and lived in this cabin for ten years. He then purchased
eighty acres more land and has made additional purchases until he now owns
four hundred and eighty acres. In the meantime he has erected a com-
fortable house and a commodious barn. He makes a specialty of raising
Chester White hogs and Jersey cows. Mr. Nelson has been a hard work-
ing man and his success in agriculture is due principally to his own unaided
efforts.
Several years before leaving his native land, in 1878, Hans Nelson
was married to Christina Anderson, who was born on July 15, 1850, in
Sweden, the daughter of Andrew and Hanna (Person) Jensen, both of
whom died in their native land. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have had seven
children, of whom two, Oscar and Edward, are deceased. Mrs. Anna
Hendrickson lives at Pillager, Cass county, Minnesota; Alfred is a farmer
in Rails Prairie township ; John resides in Rosing township, Morrison county ;
Hilda lives at St. Paul ; and Lizzie lives at home with her parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Hans Nelson are members of the Swedish Lutheran
church. Mr. Nelson is a stanch Republican and is now serving as super-
visor of Rosing township. He has served on the school board of Rosing
township for nineteen years. Mr. Nelson is a stockholder in the creamery
at Pillager, Minnesota.
OLA PERSON.
Ola Person, one of the leading farmers of Elmdale township, Morrison
county, Minnesota, is a native of the country of Sweden, born in the south-
ern portion, March 30, 1858, son of Pere Nelson and Anna (Larson) Nel-
son, who passed their entire lives in their native country. Pere Nelson was
a farmer all his life and his son, Ola, was early instructed in the work of a
farm. Pere lived to be about seventy-eight years of age, his wife, Anna,
dying when fifty years of age.
Ola Person was the youngest of a family of eight children and received
his education in the schools near his boyhood home. After working on the
farm for a few years, he decided to emigrate to the United States and did so.
coming direct to this section of the country, where many of his countrymen
were located. It was on the morning of May 24. 1882, when Ola Person
arrived in the city of St. Paul, and there he remained for about eighteen
620 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
months, securing such employment as he could at various things. In Novem-
ber, 1883, he came to Morrison county, and in Elmdale township purchased
eighty acres of land, for which he paid three dollars per acre. He brought
his family to the farm and there they lived the following summer, while he
worked in St. Paul, as in that manner lie cuuld sooner obtain the money with
which to pay for his place. The next fall he took up the work on his home-
stead and has so continued since. Ten years after making his first purchase,
he bought forty acres adjoining his original tract, paying ten dollars per
acre for his later jnirchase.
Air. Person has gi\en to the task he set himself of making a good farm
home, the very best effort possible, and today is rewarded for all his thought
and labor by owning one of the best farms in his section. The residence is
a good substantial brick and, with fine barns, the whole appearance of the
place is most complimentary to the owner.
Ola Person was married on September 23 of the same year he emi-
grated to this country (1882) to Engred Johnson, also a native of Sweden,
born on September 27,, 1853. She came to this country alone and located in
St. Paul, where she was supporting herself in a most successful manner.
To their union have been lx)rn si.x children, namely : Nels, who is a farmer,
and lives near the home place; Dorothea and Mary are deceased; Thea, who
married Alexander Anderson ; Alma, who married John Anderson ; and
Anna. The family live in the best social circles of the community and are
well liked.
Mr Person is a member of the Lutheran church, to which he gives
generously of his means. In politics he is an independent voter. He carries
on general farming such as practiced in this section, and in addition has a
numjjer of head of cattle. Pie keeps these for dairly purposes, also having
ready for the market a number of head each year. He is a stockholder in
the local creamery and is also a member of the Elmdale Shippers' Associa-
tion. He is also a member of the Farmers' I'ire Insurance Company, and is,
in fact, most heartily interested in any movement which has for its ultimate
aim the lictterment of anv phase of the lilc of his comniunitv.
Mr. Person has long since demonstrated his right to be classed among
the leading citizens of Morrison county, for he is a man who has proven
himself worthy in all relations of life. He is a man of marked domestic
traits, fond of his home and family, and has so ordered his life that he is
eminently entitled to the jileasing degree of esteem in which he is luJd by
all those who have the jjleasure of his acquaintance.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 62 1
THOMAS McDOUGALL.
Among the farmers of Morrison county, Minnesota, who beHeve in
fohowing twentieth century methods is Thomas McDougall, a farmer of
Bellevue township. He comes from a family which has always been fore-
most for right living and industrious habits, for education and morality, for
all that contributes to the welfare of the commonwealth. Such people are
always welcome in any community, for they are empire builders and as such
have pushed the frontier of civilization ever westward and onward, leaving
the wide-reaching wilderness and the far-stretching plains populous with
contented people and beautiful with green fields.
Thomas McDougall is the son of Peter, Sr., and Martha (Gibson)
McDougall, the former of whom was born at Glengarry, Ontario, Canada,
in 1820, and who died in 1905. Peter McDougall, Sr., was educated in
Canada and remained at home with his parents until about twenty years old,
when he engaged in the lumber business and worked in the lumber camps
for about ten years. He then moved to County Huron, Ontario, anil pur-
chased one hundred acres of heavy timlier land. He cleared up the land
principally by burning the timber, most of which would be of immense value
were it available today. He built a frame house and lived in it until 1873,
during which time all of the land had been cleared and improved. In 1873
he inmiigrated to the United States, settling in Morrison county, Minnesota,
where he purchased three hundred and thirty acres of land in sections 28
and 29, of Bellevue township. Most of the land was in timber, but he
cleared it and improved the land generally until his death, in 1905. He lived
in a modern two-story residence on the farm and enjoyed the use of com-
modious outbuildings on the farm.
The wife of Peter McDougall, who, before her marriage, was Martha
Gibson, is a native of Fredericton. New Brunswick, where she was educated
and where she made her home until her marriage. She was tiie mother of
eleven children, Peter, Robert, Charles, John, Duncan, Thomas, James,
Jane, Kathryne, Susie and Rose. Of these children, F'eter is a physician in
the state of Wisconsin. Charles died at the age of twenty-four years. John
is a fruit-grower at Cashmere, Washington. Duncan, a railroad engineer,
died in the year 1909, at Everett, Washington, leaving a widow, who, before
her marriage, was Margaret Barr, and five children. James is a partner of
Thomas in the operation of the home place. Jane is the widow of Henry
Holmes, of Kent, Washington. Kathryne is the wife of J. W. Denny, of
622 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
St. Cloud. Minnesota. Susie is the wife of Isaac LaFond, of Little Falls.
Rose is at home. The mother of these children is still living and makes her
home with her three children, Thomas, James and Rose, on the home farm.
The old McDougall farm, operated by Thomas and James, is an ideal
country home, having a two-story house almost hidden by a beautiful grove
of trees. It is situated near the banks of the Mississippi river and the farm
adjoins the Mississippi.
Thomas McDougall is identified with the Republican party. He is
prominent in the affairs of the Masonic fraternity, being a past master of
Anchor Lodge No. 178. He is also past worthy patron of the Order of the
Eastern Star.
JAMES MANLEY LAMBERT.
The science of agriculture finds an able exponent and a successful prac-
titioner in James Manley Lambert, who is widely known to the citizens of
Bellevue township, Morrison county, Minnesota, where he owns a farm of
more than two hundred and twenty acres.
James Manley Lambert was born in the state of Maine on .\iirii 15,
1855, and came to Morrison county, Minnesota, with his parents, James
Lambert and wife, when a mere lad. James Manley Lambert was educated
in the schools of Bellevue township, his fir.st teacher having been Mrs.
Lyman A}res, then Miss Laura Hill. R'Ir. Lambert made his home with his
parents until his marriage, but worked in the lumber camp in the winter
for several years, and in the fall engaged in wheat threshing.
In 1882 James M. Lambert was married to Mary E. Kay, and about
this time purchased one hundred and sixty acres of wild land. Mr. Lambert
and his young bride started housekeeping in a house which he purchased
and moved on the place. /\fter five or six years, during which time he
cleared much of the farm and ])ut it under cultivation, he rented the farm
and moved to Brainerd, Minnesota, where, with his elder brother. Josiah
B. Lambert, he engaged in the livery and sales inisiness. .\fter about three
years they came back to the farm and Mr. Lambert did general farming
until about 1900. He then sold the farm and moved to Royalton in order
that his children might have better educational advantages. At Royalton he
engaged in the livery business. .After ])urchasing property, he lived in
Royalton for eight or nine years, but grew tired of the livery business and
subsequently leased the building and moved back to the country, renting one
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 623
hundred and forty acres of land in Bellevue township. After renting for
four years, he moved to one hundred and sixty acres of land in section i6,
Bellevue township, which he had purchased a short time before. Here he
built a modern frame house and other outbuildings and now has a splendid
country home. Practically all of the one-hundred-and-sixty-acre farm is
under cultivation, the main crops being oats, rye, corn and potatoes. Mr.
Lambert also has a herd of Jersey cattle. He owns sixty acres of land in
section 9, which is pasture land. He also owns property in Royalton.
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Lambert are the parents of nine children,
Vivien Floy, Gaetta, Pearl, Bessie, Josiah Manley, James R., Francis, Lois
Grace and Helen Marie. Of these children, Vivien Floy is the wife of
Charles Lysle, a merchant of Royalton. Gaetta married F. Galley, a grocer
in Royalton. Pearl became the wife of K. B. Wilson, of Winnipeg, Ontario,
Canada. Bessie married L. McGonegle, who works, in the bank at Royalton.
The remainder of the children are at home.
James M. Lambert is a successful farmer and a good business man,
one who enjoys the confidence and esteem of all with whom he has come
into contact.
WILLIE HANSON.
One of the up-to-date and well-managed farms of Morrison county,
Minnesota, is that originally owned by George Hanson, located in Elmdale
township, where the immediate subject of this sketch still makes his home
and in company with his brother, Henry, rents the homestead from the
mother.
Willie Hanson was born on the farm where he has lived all his life, on
July 7, 1896, being the youngest of five children of George and Mary Han-
son. Both parents were born in Sweden, the father in 185 1 and the mother
in 1857, and both were of the agricultural class. They came to this country
separately, after having been educated in their native land, and both settled
in St. Paul, where they were afterwards married. George Hanson lived in
St. Paul for about ten years, during that time being employed l)y the gas
company in laying its pipes. In 1885 he decided to leave the life of the city
and get out into the country, selecting Morrison county as his future home.
Here, in Elmdale township, he purchased forty acres of wild land, cleared
and broke most of it. He later purchased eighty additional acres of wild
land and the place now has about thirty acres under cultivation, with the
624 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
balance in meadow and pasture land. George Hanson died on January 23,
1912, at the age of sixty years. He had put in many years of hard work
on his farm, and by the time death overtook him he had so planned and
managed his business as to have made an ideal country home where once
was only a tangle of undergrowth. His widow survives him, making her
home on the old homestead.
There are five children in the Hanson family, as follow : Henry,
Andrew, Eddie, Frank and Willie, the immediate subject of this sketch.
Willie Hanson attended school in district No. loi, of Elmdale township,
and after completing his studies, in the common branches, became his father's
helper on the farm, continuing in that connection until the time of the
father's death, when, together with his brother, Henry, he rented the farm
from the mother.
Mr. Hanson is devoting his best energies to raising live stock, preparing
a goodly number each year for the market and in addition he keeps usually
twelve head of milk cows. He usually raises about fifteen hogs per annum,
and is uniformly successful with his stock. There is a fine residence on the
place and excellent l)arns, making in all one of the attractive homes of the
community. While a young man in years, Mr. Hanson has already proven
that he profited by his father's careful instruction, for he displays ability
in the management of the home which would do credit to a man of far more
years. Energetic and ambitious, he jjromises to become one of Morrison
county's leading citizens as the dignity and experience of years rest upon
him.
HUGH A. NUTTER.
.'\mong the earnest men whose enterprise and depth of character have
gained a prominent place in the community and the respect and confidence of
his fellow citizens is the honored subject of this sketch, Hugh .\. Nutter, one
of the loading farnuTs and stock raisers of I'arker township. Morrison
county, Minnesota, and is a man of decided \-iews and laudable ambitions.
His influence is e.Kertecl for the advancement of every phase of community
life, and in the vocation to which his energies are devoted he ranks among
the representative agriculturists of Morrison i-ounty.
Hugh A. Nutter was born on NovemlK-r 10, i8(S(), in I'aribault county,
Minnesota, the only child of Walter W. and Lena (Oothoudt) .Xutter, both
natives of New York. Walter W. Nutter was born in 1843, in Otsego
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 625
county, and about the year 1865 he came westward, locating in Faribault
county, where he homesteaded a claim of one hundred and sixty acres. He
made considerable improvements on the land and farmed it until 1899,
when he came to Morrison county, locating in Parker township, and pur-
chased the eighty acres, where the immediate subject of this sketch now
resides, making also the improvements on the same. His death occurred in
191 1, and his wife died three years later. Mr. Nutter's mother was born in
1842, a daughter of Augustus and Sarah (Ellison) Oothoudt, the father
being Pennsylvania-Dutch, while the mother was a native of New York.
Augustus Oothoudt lived for a number of years in Faribault county, Minne-
sota, where he also had homesteaded a claim, and his declining years were
passed with his grandson, Hugh A. Nutter, at his home in Parker township.
Mr. Nutter, when a boy. attended the district schools near his home in
Faribault county and was early instructed by his father in the secrets of
husbandry. When he was about nineteen years of age, his father gave him
outright eighty acres of land, which he farmed for about seven years. He
then disposed of his holdings and went into South Dakota, where he farmed
for three years, but not liking that location he returned to Minnesota and
located in Polk county, where he rented land and farmed for a time.
In 1900 Mr. Nutter came to Morrison county and bought eighty acres
in Parker township and set about making improvements on it. He made
his home on that tract, which he improved and farmed until 1914, when he
sold out to his son, and then, on the death of his mother, came into pos-
session of his father's farm, where he has since resided. This contains eighty
acres, fifty of which are under cultivation. In all, Mr. Nutter is the owner
of one hundred and forty acres. He gives his best attention to the raising
of graded Durham cattle, preparing each year a goodly number for the
market. He conducts such farming as will best handle the cattle he has on
hand, and inasmuch as he goes about his undertaking in a thorough and
systematic mamner, he is meeting with excellent returns. Mr. Nutter has
constructed an excellent barn, well adapted to his needs, and other buildings
on the place are comfortable and sufficient.
On July 18, 1892, Hugh A. Nutter was united in marriage with Maun
Winn, born on February 6, 1873, in Faribault county, Minnesota, a daugh-
ter of William and Nancy (Sheffer) Winn, both of whom are now deceased.
The father was a native of Pennsylvania, born on Christmas day, 1834, and
the mother was born in Canada in 1836. To Mr. and Mrs. Nutter have
been born eight children, namely: Dean, a farmer of Parker township;
(40)
626 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Echo (Mrs. Oothoiidt), living at Dora Lake, this state; Myrtle, Hazel,
Walter, Forrest, William and Millartl, all of whom are still at home with the
parents.
Both Mr. Nutter and his wife are among the most highly respected
citizens of the community, and while he is not a member of any religious
society, she is an attendant upon the services of the Presbyterian church.
Mr. Nutter is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and
politically, he gives his support to the Republican party. He is numbered
among the good and substantial citizens of Randall, who are willing to give
of their time and efforts to promoting the welfare of the community, and
at the present time he is serving as treasurer of the school board of the town
of Randall, having for some time been a member of that board. Mr. Nutter
leads a well-regulated and honest life, which has gained for him the respect
of a wide circle of friends.
SVEN M. BLOM.
Sven M. Blom is a son of John Swenson and Maria Magnusson, natives
of Sweden, to whom seven children were born : Sven M., born on April 4,
1857, in Sweden; Carl, deceased; Christina (Mrs. Sjo(iuist), living in
Sweden ; Andrew, living in Sweden ; August, now in Morrison county,
Minnesota ; Erland, who resides in Braham, Minnesota ; and one child who
died in infancy. Ji>hn Swenson was born about the year 1835 in Sweden,
where he died in 1895. Maria Magnusson was also born in Sweden and
died in 1881, when about forty-five years of age.
In 1882, when about twenty-five years of age, Sven M. Pilmn dcjiarted
from .Sweden to seek his fortunes in America and upon his arrival went to
Meeker county, Minnesota, working there as a laborer for some time. In
1883, about one year after his arrival on .American soil, Sven M. Blom was
united in marriage to Matilda Palm, who was born on September 3, 1855,
in Sweden, and came to America in 1881. With her brother, who had taken
the journey with her, she settled in Chicago, where she worked for some
time. For se\'en years after their niarri;ige, Sven M. Blom and his wife
resided in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where be worked as a laborer.
In 1891 Sven M. Blom removed to Little Falls. Minnesota, where he
purchased one hundred and sixty acres of homestead land, which he left
untenanted until the following year. In the meantime he learned the mason's
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 627
trade, also working in the paper mills and as a fireman in the winter, doing
mason work in the summer. Being one of the early settlers of Belle Prairie
township, neighbors were few and distant and the land overgrown with
brush and timber, was well nigh imiiassable. In the clearing of his farm,
Sven M. Blom had to hire oxen with which to haul his timber and the barn
was built of logs with a thatched roof of straw.
The stock on this farm consisted of one cow, a few chickens and a
broncho horse, which was used in getting around the swamps while the land
was in process of being cleared. Fields of grain now wave above the ancient
swamps and substantial buildings have taken the place of the crude structures
of the past. Sven M. Blom now owns eighty acres of well-improved land,
upon which the breeding of Holstein cattle has become a specialty. He is a
stockholder in the Freedhem Creamery Company, a member of the Swedish
Free church and a stanch Republican.
Sven M. Blom is the father of two children: John E., of Belle Prairie
township, and Jennie, who married a Mr. Warnberg, now living in Kansas.
The son, John, owns eighty acres of the original one hundred and sixty
acres, constituting the old home place. Mr. Blom has many friends in Mor-
rison county, where his indomitable courage and honest endeavors have won
for him the respect and sincere regard of all who know him.
PETER DVORAK.
Peter Dvorak, an industrious and well-to-do farmer of Scandia Valley
township, Morrison county, Minnesota, was born on June 20, 1874, m
Bohemia, Austria. He is the son of Peter and Anna (Swank) Dvorak, who
were the parents of seven children, five of whom are living. Peter Dvorak,
Sr., was born about 1858, in Bohemia. He came to America in 1880 and
settled in Johnson county, Iowa, with his family. He worked as a section
hand for a number of years, but is now living retired at Fairfax, Iowa.
Mrs. Anna (Swank) Dvorak was born about 1861, in Bohemia, and is still
living. Peter Dvorak, Jr., is the eldest child born to his parents.
Peter Dvorak was educated in the public schools of Fairfax, Iowa, but
was permitted to attend school only about six months in the year. After he
had arrived at the age of seventeen he worked at different jobs until 1905,
when he immigrated to Morrison county, Minnesota, and rented land in
Rail Prairie township. In 1914 Mr. Dvorak removed to the farm of F. W.
628 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Murphy, of Little Falls, Minnesota. This farm comprises two hundred and
forty acres and is located in Scandia Valley township. One hundred and
twenty acres of the farm are under cultivation. Mr. Dvorak makes a spec-
ialty of raising live stock and owns fourteen head of well-bred Holstein
cattle. He also raises Duroc-Jersey hogs.
In 1902 Peter Dvorak was married to Louise Strnad, who was born
on August 20, 1877, ^t Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the daughter of Anton and
Elizabeth (Hraskyi) Strnad, natives of Bohemia, who left there about i860.
Both of Mrs. Dvorak's parents are deceased. They are buried at Fairfax,
Iowa. Mrs. Dvorak's father was a shoemaker and followed the trade all
his life. Mr. and Mrs. Dvorak have no children.
Peter Dvorak is a hard-working farmer and careful manager. He is a
member of the Modern Woodmen of America. Politically, he is identified
with the Republican party. Although not members of any church, Mr. and
Mrs. Dvorak attend church regularly.
EDWIN SIGNER.
It is always agreeable and profitable to learn something of the career
of a man who has started out in life at the veiy bottom of the ladder of
success and by methods of unquestioned integrity and tireless energy has
won a place in life where he commands the honor and respect of his fellow
citizens and has also earned a competence. Such, in short, is a brief outline
of the career of Edwin Signer, well-known farmer of Parker township.
Morrison county, Minnesota.
Edwin Signer was born in Greene county, New York, February 9, 1844,
a son of Steward and Lydia (Haag) Signer. Both parents were also
natives of the state of New York and both were descended from English
ancestry. Both lived to a ripe old age. The father was ninety years old
when death claimed him, in 1878. and the mother, who lived some eight
or nine years later, was of about the same age. Neither parent ever left
their native state.
Edwin Signer came westward in 1864 ai?d located near Green Bay.
Wisconsin, where he secured employment as a farm laborer. He continued
at that work only about a year, when he went into the timber and remained
there a good many years, until 1892, when he came to Morrison county and
lived for about a year at Little Falls. In the fall of 1893 he came to Parker
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 629
township and purchased a tract of land containing eighty acres, for which
he paid the sum of eight dollars and twenty-live cents per acre. His land
at that time was thickly covered with brush and timber, and the first step
he took was to make a small clearing and in that erect a little log cabin. He
had no stock of any kind whatsoever, but by fall had a team of o.xen and he
now enjoys telling of the difficulties citizens of Parker township at that time
had in getting about. At one time he left his home at six o'clock in the
morning, bound for Randall, where he purchased a sack of flour and two
bags of potatoes and immediately set out for home, but did not reach his
destination until six o'clock in the evening. There were at that time no
roads worthy the name, and his way lay through so many swamps that often
his wagon would sink in the mud up to the hub.
In 1899 Mr. Signer built a comfortable frame house, painted it a cream
color and has his home quite attractive. He has twenty-five acres in farm-
ing lands and Mr. and Mrs. Signer operate the place as a dairy farm. In
the summer of 191 5 they are milking eight cows and dispose of the product
at St. Paul, to the Wisconsin Dairv- Company. Mr. Signer still has on his
place thirty-five acres of natural timber, some of it becoming quite valuable.
Mr. Signer received his education in his native state, and while still a
young man had mastered a good many of the secrets of successful farming.
He was one of a family of five children, the others being Edgar, still living
in New York state and engaged in the manufacture of cider and vinegar;
Emma, Mrs. Collyer, also lives in New York, in Greene county, where the
family originally came from; William and Ruth (Mrs. Reynolds) are
deceased.
On October 11, 1882, Edwin Signer was united in marriage with Minnie
Pappae, a native of Germany, born on January 28. i860. When a small
child of four years, her parents emigrated to this country and located in
Wisconsin, where they still reside. She is the daughter of Herman and
Mary (Nicholas) Pappae, both of whom are enjoying excellent health in
their advanced age. To Mr. and Mrs. Signer have been born five children,
namely: Ruth Emma, who became the wife of Henry Garrison and is now
deceased; Charles, a farmer of Parker township; Sadie, wife of H. Blest,
residing in Hennepin county, this state; Anna J., a graduate of the Little
Falls Business College, now a stenographer in Minneapolis; and Rosa, the
youngest of the family, remaining at home with the parents.
Mr. Signer is a faithful member of the Church of God and has con-
scientiously reared his family in that faith. In politics, he votes indepen-
dently, and while not being especially interested in such matters, he does
630 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
take a keen interest in the affairs of the community. He is at the present
time serving most efficiently as treasurer of school district No. 100, and has
for a number of years taken special interest in matters of education. In
the years of his residence here, Mr. Signer has proven himself to be a most
worthy man in every relation of life and has drawn to himself a circle of
warm friends by whom he is held in the highest regard.
RICHARD THORSEN.
The state of Minnesota owes much of its civic and industrial progress
to the persevering citizens of Norwegian birth or lineage. Of this desirable
element of citizenship, one of the best known and esteemed representatives
is Richard Thorsen, whose agricultural activities have given him a place of
prominence in the community in which he lives and a strong hold on public
confidence. His career has been one of intense interest as well as of perilous
adventure. The fearlessness and courage displayed in the undertakings of
his early days changed in later life to qualities of persistency and endurance.
The life of a sailor is not an uncommon thing in Norway, and consequently
a number of her native sons are attracted to the occupation on the sea.
Richard Thorsen, who is now enjoying the fruits, of a well-spent life,
was born in Norway on the i6th of June, 1872, and was one of the five
children born to Thor Anderson and Bertha (Rikoldater) Anderson. The
eldest son, Andres, still lives in Norway. The youngest son, I.ars. met a
tragic death in his native land. During the process of transjiorting a bundle
of wood by cable, which is a common custom in Norway, the package sud-
denly opened and one of the pieces of flying wood struck the young man on
the head and killed him almost instantly. Two daughters are in this coun-
try, both living in North Dakota. Thor Anderson, the father of Richard
Thorsen, was born in Norway in 1836; he was a farmer, but is now leading
a retired life. His wife is also a native of Norway, having been born there
in 1847. ^^^^ death occurred in 1896.
The advantages offered by the school system of Norway gave Richard
Thorsen his early etlucational training. .Xt the age of fifteen years he began
to make his own living, and started life as a sailor. He was a sailmakcr. and
also operated a donkey-engine. This occupation took him to all jKirts of the
world, he visiting France, England and Scotland. His coming to .\merica,
however, was accidental. During a voyage to Germany, he was shipwrecked
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 63I
in the Baltic sea and picked up by an American vessel. This ship carried
him to New York, where he landed and remained for six weeks. His
ad\entures were not to end so abruptly, however, for the sea called him again
and he found employment on the same vessel going to Hongkong. From
China he went to East Indies, and three months later returned to Boston.
There he resigned from the ship, and spent a year sailing on the eastern
coast. Later he sailed around Cape Horn on his way to San Francisco, and
this journey took Air. Thorsen six months to complete. On his ne.xt voyage
he went to England, working on a ship that carried wine. He resigned
for the second time his life on the water and upon arriving in New Yorkl
made up his mind to try farming.
Morrison county, Minnesota, proved to be an attractive farm country,
and here Mr. Thorsen liought eighteen acres of land near Little Falls. After
working as a farmer for a year he sold the land and returned to New York
again and sailed on the eastern coast until after the Spanish-American War.
He returned to Morrison county, where he bought forty acres of land in
Cushing township, section 25. On this place he broke up enough of the soil
for a garden, and then sold out in 1898. He moved to Randall and worked
on the railroad for aliout six years. He was then in a position to buy
another farm and purchased eighty acres in Cushing township, section 25.
The land was covered entirely with timber and underbrush, and the process
of clearing the land took years of unremitting toil and constant application.
Mr. Thorsen has succeeded in clearing and cultivating thirty acres. The
first dwelling on the place was made of logs and was not unlike most of the
houses in the community at that time. In 19 14 a large frame house was
erected to take the place of the log cabin, and it is one of the most modern
residences in that locality. The conveniences include a steam-heating plant
and hot and cold water fixtures. In the rearing of stock Mr. Thorsen has
specialized in Guernsey cattle.
In 1896 Richard Thorsen married Tillie Gunderson, a native of Nor-
way, who came to this country with her parents and settled in Wisconsin.
She died in 1900 and left two children, Bertha, who is at home with her
father, and Theo, who is staying with an aunt in Wisconsin. Mr. Thorsen
married, secondly, in 1902, Astrid Westin, who was born in Denmark in
1885. and when just eight years old came with her parents to this country
and lived for a time in Wisconsin and South Dakota. Later they resided
in Randall, where her father was occupied as a farmer. Both of the parents
are now dead. The children of Mr. Thorsen born to the second union are
632 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Ingwald, Theo, Tillie, Arline and Etta. They are still at home with their
parents.
In his political interests, Mr. Thorsen has always been a firm supporter
of the cause of the Republican party and an able exponent of its principles.
His religious views are with the Presbyterians, and he lives up to the doc-
trines taught in that church. With societies and lodges he has never affiliated.
He possesses an alert and ambitious mind which has enabled him to hold
offices of public trust. In school affairs he has always taken an active part,
and for six years held the position as director of the school board.
LOUIS NELSON.
A large portion of the state of Minnesota is given over to agriculture,
and as a result this state has drawn pioneer settlers from many parts of the
world, who have contributed most worthily to her prosperity. This is
notably true of the settlers from Norway and Sweden. Their inherent traits
of perseverance and fortitude have made possible the present ownership of
large tracts of cultivated farm lands. Prominent among the Norwegian
settlers of Minnesota is Louis Nelson, who far many years has been identi-
fied with the agricultural life of Morrison county.
The father of Louis Nelson, Nels Haugsbak, started to make his living
by becoming a sailor, and he found in this occupation opportunities for gain-
ing advancement, as he received the appointment, some years later, as captain
of the ship. Louis NeLson was born on the 31st of May, 1863, in Liksvigcn,
Norway, the son of Nels and Johanna (Joneson) Haugsbak, and wa^
one of eight children, seven of whom were boys. His father was born in
Norway, in 181 5, and died in that country in 1908. His mother, also a
native Norwegian, was born in 1827, and died in iqoi. and is buried with
her hu.sband at Leksvigen.
Louis Nelson received his elementary education in the public schools of
Norway and completed the academic course when he was fifteen years old.
He was fully appreciative of the advantages that were afforded in the gram-
mar schools, but the major part of his business training was received during
his three-year course at business college. After this he worked as a "lens-
man," known in the English language as deputy sheriff. In 1883 he left his
native land and came to America, settling in Ashland, Wisconsin, where his
brother owned a lumber yard. From the time when he was a young man,
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 633
Louis Nelson has worked with untiring energy, first at one occupation, until
he saw greater opportunity in another direction. During the first years after
his settlement in this country he worketl as a carpenter and then as a lahorer
in the vicinity of Ashland.
In 1898 Mr. Nelson was able to buy eighty acres of land ui Cushing
township, Morrison county, and took up his residence in that locality. The
land was a mass of underbrush and timber, which rec|uired a constant expen-
diture of time and labor for the clearing. A log cabin, sixteen by twenty-
four feet, was built, and served as a dwelling for nine years. The residence
which now stands in a prominent place on the land is in marked contrast to
the log house; it is a two-story structure of an attractive shade, and is
thoroughly modern in its design; a hot-air furnace is one of the many con-
veniences. Other buildings of modern structure are located at various
points on the farm.
The progress made by Mr. Nelson, in clearing the land, has been
remarkable. He has not only cleared the original tract of eighty acres but
has extended its boundaries until he now owns one hundred and sixty acres.
Eleven acres of this is planted in corn, ten acres in oats and the rest in barley,
rye and potatoes. Apart from his interest in this line of farming, Mr. Nel-
son gives some attention to stock raising, and has graded Guernsey cattle.
He is president of the Cushing Creamery Company, as well as one of the
shareholders. Mr. Nelson takes an active part in the affairs of the Republi-
can party of his district, where he has held the office of road supervisor for
eleven years. His influence has been potent in connection with the develop-
ment of rural conditions, during the time of drawing up a map of Morrison
county, he was a valuable asssitant in furnishing information regarding the
location of schools and farms in Cushing township.
In 1889 Louis Nelson married Enga Larson Dunnum, a native of Eids-
vold, Norway, who was born there on the 29th of April. 1867. She received
her education in Norway, and came to this country the year she was mar-
ried. Her parents were Lars and Kristine (Pero) Dunnimi, they
reared a familv of seven girls and two boys. To Mr. and Mrs. Nelson the
following children have been born: Leonard, br)rn on August t6. 1890;
Carl, Augtist 6, 1892: Aage, August 9, 1895; Nora. July 6, 1898; Myrtle,
September 5, 1900; Alpha, November 2. 1902; Harold, October 18, 1904;
Odin, October 17, 1906; Palmer, January 9, 1909: and Marie. May 25, ion.
Mr. Nelson has exemplified in his life all the deep Christian faith which
is inherent in his nature. After coming to this country he continued to
634 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
identify himself with the Lutheran church and is one of its most devoted
and earnest members. He has not been affihated with lodges or fraternal
orders.
WILLIAM EDDEN.
Morrison county, Minnesota, can well boast of the quality of its citizen-
ship in that it numbers among its leading citizens a large per cent, of men
in comfortable circumstances who have won their own way in life and who
owe absolutely to their own efforts all they stand possessed of. These men
ha\'e demonstrated that they possess those sterling qualities which make for
success and the broad acres of Morrison county have given them the oppor-
tunity, for most of them have literally wrested their material success from
the soil. Many of the now prosj^erous farmers of this section came into
this county at a time when the land was covered very largelv with heavv
scrub undergrowth and the patience and persistency they displaved in clear-
ing their land, raising crops and one by one acquiring comforts in life, fully
entitle them to all they have. One of the citizens of Green Prairie township
who comes in this general class is \\'illiani Edden, to a short sketch of whose
career the attention of the reader is now directed.
William Edden is a native of England, born in Oxford, .August 21.
1848, son of Richard and Sarah (Harris) Edden, both born and reared in
their native country. When William was about two vears of age, his par-
ents emigrated to this country and located near Dundee, Illinois, where the
father secured work on a farm at which he continued until the time of his
death, about two years after coming to this countr\-. .Mr. luiden's mother
sur\ived her husband many years.
Mr. lulden is one of a family of eight children, namely: Richard, who
flied in 1^65. Thomas, died in 1914, at Janesville. Wisconsin, where he
had made his home for a numlicr of years and where his widow. Mar\'
(Ransom) ICdden, and children now reside. His children are Ransom,
Ida, Fred and Nellie. Joseph died unmarried in Janesville. Lydia, died
years ago in Illinois, .'\minda is the wife of Robert Murfitt. of Rovalton.
Minnesota, and is the mother of nine children. Lola, llattie. Dollv, I'>essie,
Leslie. Joseph, Samuel, Florence and Ella. Samuel has never married and
is a resident of Green Prairie township, Morrison county. George lives at
Helena, Montana. His wife before their marriage was Olive Comstock and
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 635
they 'have a family of eight children : George, Emma, William, Erva, May,
Olive, Esther and Ransom.
William Edden received his education in the district schools near Dun-
dee, Illinois, for after the death of his father he (then a lad of ahout four
\ears) was taken into the family of Ered Ashbaugh, living in that com-
munity. Mr. Ashbaugh was a farmer and young William remained with
him for about nine years, attending school and assisting with the work of
the farm. After leaving Mr. Ashbaugh's home, he worked on different
farms in Kane county, Illinois, until he was twenty-three years of age, when
he went to Wisconsin and in the vicinity of Janesville secured farm work.
He remained there but a year, removing to Steele county, this state, where
he remained for a year. His next move was back to the old locality in Illi-
nois, where he rented a farm. However, he remained there but one year,
and next went to Wisconsin and from there to Prescott, Minnesota. He
remained there about one year and then came into Morrison county, where
he has since made his home.
Mr. Edden homesteaded a tract of one hundred and sixty acres in sec-
tion 20, of Green Prairie township, all scrub timber land. It was necessary
to put his dwelling about one-half mile from the iniblic highway and he
erected only a small log house. The first land which he got ready for culti-
vation was a small patch which he platted to corn and potatoes. He pur-
chased this land in 1879 and has since diligently labored to get it all under
cultivation and has about succeeded in doing so. Some few years ago he
purchased eighty additional acres of meadow land, located in section 19,
and adjoining his original tract on the west. He has improved his residence
until he now has a nice country home with suitable outbuildings and is uni-
formly successful with his crops. He plaiUs mainly corn, oats and rye and
in addition to his regular farming, he has a nice herd of dairy cattle, which
he finds a profitable side line.
On October 18, 1872, William Edden was married to .Mice Swindell,
born in Stockport. England, April i. 1849. ^Vhen a little girl of seven years
she was brought to this country by her father, her mother having j)reviously
died. The father lived for a number of years in Richmond, Illinois, later
going to Wisconsin, where they stayed three years. From there they moved
to Steele count)-, this state, where they homesteaded forty acres, living there
a number of years. They later came to Morrison county, where the father
homesteaded forty acres and made his home until the time of his death, when
seventy years of age. Mrs. Edden was the youngest of a family of three
636 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
children. A sister Louisa died a number of years ago, leaving one child,
George Scott. She was the wife of Lewis Scott. Mrs. Edden's brother
George died in Minneapolis, in 1912, leaving his widow, Maud (Soames)
Edden, who was his second wife, and four children by his first marriage.
They are Myrtle, Mabel, Sidney and Lowell. The mother of these children
was Elizabeth Comstock, who died while her children were still small.
Mr. and Mrs. William Edden are the parents of five children, namely :
Clara, wife of Daniel Campbell, a farmer of Culdrum township, this county,
and the mother of three children, Howard, Mabel and Dorothy. Elsie mar-
ried C. E. Wittwer, of Randall, this county, who is a farmer of that vicinity.
They have four children, Frank, Ward, Irma and Vera. Etta, Frank and
Elmer are still under the parental roof.
Mr. Edden holds his religious membership with the Congregational
church, to the support of which he gives generously of his means, and in
politics he is a Republican. He takes more than a passing interest in the
political afifairs of his community and has served his party as township
assessor and has also been a member of the board of supervisors, discharging
the duties thus falling upon him in a manner pleasing to all. Mr. Edden
takes a commendable interest in the general welfare of the community and
his support can always be counted on for any measure which tends to bene-
fit the moral, social or material phase of community life.
FRANCIS T. ODOR.
Among the successful farmers of Rails Prairie township, Morrison
county, Minnesota, is Francis T. Odor, a native of Macon county, Illinois,
who was born on December 15, 1873. Mr. Odor is the son of Thomas and
Marilla (Davis) Odor, the former of whom was Ijorn in Garrard county,
Kentucky, in 1841), and tiie latter was born in Macon coiuity, Illinois, in
1846.
Thom;is Odor in his earlier years was a school teacher by profession
and farmer. He taught school iioth in the state of Illinois and in Wash-
ington territory, but is now retired and lives with his son, I'rancis T. His
wife is also living with their .son, Francis T. They were the parents of four
children, of whom Francis T. is the second born; Algie D., the eldest, lives
in Buena Vista county, Iowa; George E. is a merchant at Decatur, Illinois;
Mrs. Viva Sutton lives at Sioux Rapids, Iowa.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 637
Francis T. Odor was reared on a farm and educated in the district
schools of Illinois. When he was about fourteen years old, he began work-
ing on neighboring farms and at the age of eighteen found employment in
a printing office at Decatur, Illinois, as a pressfeeder. He also worked in a
grocery store. In 1896 Mr. Odor immigrated to Buena Vista county, Iowa,
and worked as a farm hand until 1897, when he rented three hundred and
twenty acres of land in the Hawkeye state. After farming this land for
four years he moved back to Macon county, Illinois, and rented land for five
years, when he returned to Buena Vista county. Iowa. In 1908 he pur-
chased eighty acres of land and farmed until January, 1911, when he immi-
grated to Rails Prairie township, Morrison county, Minnesota, and purchased
one hundred and twenty acres of land. Mr. Odor now has one hundred
and ten acres under cultivation for which he paid thirty dollars an acre.
He has built a house and made many improvements. At the present time
he is raising fifty acres of corn. He keeps a very high grade of live stock,
especially a very high grade of Duroc-Jersey hogs.
In 1896 Francis T. Odor was married to Florence L. Sanders, a native
of Macon county, Illinois, born on January 8, 1876. Mrs. Odor is the
daughter of Lewis and Margaret (Davis) Sanders and has borne her husband
three children, Ronald F., Harold L., and Marjorie L. Harold L. is deceased.
Mr. Odor is independent in politics. Mr. and Mrs. Odor are members
of the Methodist church. He is a member of the Yeoman lodge and is now
serving on the school board in this district.
GEORGE A. ETZELL.
Among the clean cut young men and public-spirited citizens of Clarissa,
Todd county, Minnesota, is George A. Etzell, who is the postmaster of
Clarissa, and the editor and publisher of the Clarissa Independent.
George A. Etzell was born on a farm near Chaska, in Carver county,
Minnesota, September i, 1877, and is one of a large family of children. He
attended school at Chaska until fourteen years of age, and then began work
on the Chaska Herald in the printing shop. After working for the Chaska
Herald for three years he worked two years for the Carver Free Press, at
Carver, Minnesota, and then attended the Hess Business College, at St. Paul.
Minnesota, graduating after a year and one-half of study.
Shortly after leaving college, Mr. Etzel joined the Twelfth Regiment,
6,^8 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, and durini,' the Spanish-American war, was
held in reserve for the Havana campaign, but the war ended before the regi-
ment was called into service, the regiment having only gone as far as Chicka-
mauga, Tennessee. After Mr. Etzell's discharge from the serxice, he worked
for various daily newspapers in different parts of the country.
In 1902 Mr. Etzell came to Clarissa, Minnesota, and purchased a half
interest in the Clarissa Indcpctident. his partner at the time being P. S. Dor-
sey. In August, 1903. Mr. Etzell purchased his partner's interest in the
paper and has since operated it alone. This newspaper has a wide circula-
tion in this community, and a most satisfactory advertising patronage.
On January i, 191 5, Mr. Etzell was appointed postmaster of Clarissa,
after a competitive civil service examination. His wife is the assistant in
the postoffice.
Mr. Etzell's wife is a native of Chaska, Minnesota, where she was born,
reared and educated. She made her home with her parents until her mar-
riage in 1906. Mr. and Mrs. Etzell are the parents of two children. George
and Magdalin.
The Etzell family are earnest and devout members of the Catholic
church. Mr. Etzell is a member of the Knights of Columbus. He is inde-
pendent in politics.
AUGUST SCHWANKE.
Specific mention is made of many of the worthy citizens of Morrison
county, Minnesota, within the pages of this book, citizens who have figured
in the growth and tlevelupmcnt of this favored locality and whose interests
are identified with every pha.se of its progress. Each man has, within his
own sphere of action, added to the well-being of the comnumitv in which he
resides and has given his part toward the general advancement and legitimate
growl h. One of these worthy citizens is August Schwanke, a retired farmer,
now residing in Randall, Morrison county, in which county he owns con-
siderable land.
August Schwanke is a native of Germany, born on .March 17, i8b_', in
Prussia, a .son of ['"erdinanil and 1 lenrielt;i ( r.ucli ) Schwanke. 'i'liere were
originally six children in the family, ['\\c of whom are living at the present
time. Willimana, the eldest, is deceased; the next child in order of birth is
August, the immediate subject of this sketch; .\ugusta is the wife of a Mr.
Jurrkik and has never left her native land; Alln'rl resides in T.ittle brails, this
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 639
State; Frederick lives in Randall: and Hulda (Mrs. Rebischke) lives in
Parker township, this county.
Ferdinand Schwanke"? father was born on October 8. 1830, and passed
his entire life in the vicinity of Ober Schridlow. The elder Schwanke was
for eight years a soldier of the German empire and was a veteran of two
wars, that with Denmark in 1864 and in the campaign with Austria in 1866.
After returning to civilian life, he became a mail carrier and later engaged
in farming, in which he continued up to the time of his death on March 3,
1879. Henriette (Buch) Schwanke was born (in June 10, 1834, and is still
living at a ripe old age.
August Schwanke recei\ed his education in his native land and from
early bo}'hood was instructed by his father in the secrets of successful hus-
bandry. He left his home in 1885, emigrating to America, and came directly
to this state, where he secured work in Carver county. He hired out as a
farm hand for twenty dollars per month. In this way he continued for
several years and came to Randall in 1891, at which time he purchased a
tract of eightv acres of timber land from the railroad company. This was
located in section 25, of Parker township, and he paid six dollars per acre
for the land. He immediately busietl himself in making improvements on
his newly-acquired land, built a small log cabin and therein resided for four
vears, when the cabin was destroyed by fire. To replace his loss he erected
a frame house, size sixteen Iiy twent\-eight feet. He lived there until 1896,
l)y which time he had cleared and had under cultivation twenty acres, when
he moved to Randall for residence. That same year he bought an additional
eighty-acre tract, but that he ne\er farmed. He continued to invest in land
and after remaining in Randall four years, he returned to the farm, this time
living in section 24, of Parker township, and owning in all two hundred and
forty acres. In 19 15 he returned to Randall for residence and has con-
tinued there since. He has disposed of some of his real estate, retaining
one hundred and twenty-nine acres, nine of which lay within the corporation
limits of the town, on the eastern side, and there he has his residence.
On March 10. 1887, August Schwanke was married to Amalie
Rebischke, born on November 5, 1861. near his birth-place in Germany.
She came to this country with a sister and brother of Mr. Schwanke and
their marriage took place soon thereafter. To their union have been Ixirn
five children, all residing in or near Randall. The eldest is Ferdinand who
is employed in the Randall State Bank; Fmma, wife of G. O. Nelson;
Minnie, wife of G. Mueller; August, fanning on the home place: and .Albert,
employed by the railroad as a section hand.
640 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Mr. Schwanke is a member of the German Lutheran church. In poh-
tics he votes the Republican party. He takes a keen interest in pohtical
matters, especially as relating to local affairs, and is now serving the town
of Randall as its treasurer. Mr. Schwanke is a man who has lived quietly,
devoting his time mainly to the advancement of his own interests and now
that he has won a pleasing competence, which enables him to pass his remain-
ing years in freedom from exacting labors, he takes a lively interest in all
matters that make for the advancement of the varied interests of community
life. He is a man who has a wide circle of friends by all of whom he is
helcl in high esteem.
JOHN HEDIN.
Among the younger enterprising farmers in Elmdale township, Mor-
rison county, Minnesota, is John Hedin, born on January 3, 1884, in that
same township, where his entire life has been spent. Mr. Hedin can remem-
ber the time when almost pioneer conditions prevailed in his section and he
has been an appreciative observer of the gradual coming of modern inven-
tions and improvements into the life of the community. John Hedin is a
son of Ole Hedin and Mary (Lillberg) Hedin, both natives of Sweden, and
is the second child in their family of seven children. Mr. Hedin's parents
were married after they came to this country, both having located in .Mich-
igan, where they became acquainted. They took up their residence in the
city of Minneapolis, where Ole followed his trade of stone mason, to which
occupation he has given practically all the active years of his life. In the
early eighties, he and his wife came to Elmdale township, Morrison county,
where he purchased a farm of eighty acres, on which he and his wife still
reside. He managed his farm in addition to working at his trade whenever
oi)portunity offered.
John Hedin's opportunities for education were rather limited in his
youth, although as a young hoy he attended the common school in district
No. 22, located near his home. However, when a boy of but twelve years,
he assumed the work of the homestead and had charge of the farm until he
was twenty-nine years of age, at which time he was married.
On Octolier 7, 1913, John Hedin was married to Julia Thomp.son. She
was born in Elmdale township on November 8, 1884, a daughter of Nels
Peter Thompson and Meta M. (Madson) Thompson, who came here in the
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 64I
early seventies, and have resided on their homestead in section i8 ever since.
Mrs. Hedin has passed her entire Hfe in her native township, having been
educated in its puphc schools and remained at home with her parents until
the time of her marriage. Mr. antl Mrs. Hedin have one son, Leo Emmett,
born on June 3, 1914.
Directly after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Hedin came to live on his
farm of eighty acres in Elmdale township, section 16, where they intend to
make their home. This land is partly under cultivation and Mr. Hedin is
making rapid progress toward having it all under the plow. His intention
is to make a stock farm of it and he will raise pure-bred stock only. The
season of 191 5 found him with eighteen hogs, four head of cattle and three
horses. He follows twentieth century methods in conducting the work of
his farm and is already well on the road to a gratifying degree of material
success.
Mr. Hedin is a man who takes more than a passing interest in the
development of the various phases of community life, and as an expression
of this interest he acts as superintendent of the Farmers' Telephone Com-
pany, and keeps its property in good shape, thus realizing the highest possible
eiBciency from the ecpiipment. In politics, Mr. Hedin votes independently
and he holds his fraternal afifiliation with the body of Yeomanry.
Mr. Hedin represents that most interesting type of American citizen-
ship, — the men who do things, and from his earliest boyhood he has proven
that he possesses industry in a marked degree coupled with executive ability
of a high order.
FRANK ANDERSON.
Among the enterprising citizens of Elmdale township, Morrison county,
Minnesota, who are natives of the land of Sweden, none is better known
than Frank Anderson, the respected subject of this short biographical sketch.
Mr. Anderson's home is known as "Cedar Hill Farm" and was so named
and recorded in 1910. The tract was purchased in 1884, before he was mar-
ried. This land is located in section 21, of the township mentioned, and at
the time Mr. Anderson secured possession of it, was all wild land, b'ifty
acres of it are now under cultivation, and each year sees a few additional
acres given to the plow. In addition to his general farming, Mr. Anderson
raises stock as a side line, which he linds most lucrative. He has thirty head
(41)
642 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
of cattle, good stock; thirty hogs and seven horses, the latter used in con-
ducting the work of the farm.
Frank Anderson was born in the central part of Sweden, March 17,
1857, being a son of Andrew Abreson and Breta Christina (Carlsdotter)
Abreson, and the fourth child in their family of nine children. One child
died in infancy and the other eight are still living. Neither parent ever left
their native land, and their entire lives were given over to the farming
industry. Andrew, the father, was born in 1824, and died in 1910, wlien
eighty-six years of age, while the mother, who was born in 1824. died at
the age of sixty-four, in 1888.
b>ank Anderson received a good common-school education in his native
land and remained under the parental roof until twenty-three years of age,
when he set out for America. He first located at Joliet, Illinois, where for
a time he worked in the rolling mills and later in the stone quarries with
which that districts abounds. After spending two years in that locality, he
went to St. Paul, where he secured the position of coachman in the famih- of
John A. Berky, in which service he remained for nine years, a faithful and
trusted employee. Mr. Anderson had higher ambitions in life and was
frugally saving all money possible, which he used in purchasing the hundred
and twenty acres of land where he now makes his home. Mr. Anderson
was married in 1883, but did not take up his residence on his farm until six
years later, continuing to reside in St. Paul in the meantime.
Mrs. Anderson before her marriage was Marie Elizabeth Johnson, born
on an island in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Sweden and belonging to that
country. She was a daughter of John Nelson, born in 1835, and Breta
Kajsa (Pehr.son) Nelson, born in 1838. and first saw the light of day on
September 21. 1862. Her parents were farmers on their island home and
never left their native land. John Nelson died in 1910, at the age of seventy-
five years, and Breta Nelson died in 1874, when but ihirtv-five vears old.
Mrs. Andcr.son comes of a family of six children, being the third child in order
of birth. She received a good common-school education in her girlhood
home and when eighteen years of age, emigrated to America, locating in
St. Paul where she was employed until the time of her marriage on Novem-
ber 3, 1883.
Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have two sons. I'Veddie .Mvin. married and
residing on his farm in section 22, of Elmdale township, and Sidney Leonard,
remaining at home with the parents. Both these sons own a farm of one
hundred acres and have it partly under cultivation. In addition to his own
responsibilities and as an evidence of the high esteem in which he is held,
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 643
Mr. Anderson has been entrusted with the guardianship of Dagmer Judith
Pehrson Anderson, an orphan girl.
Mr. Anderson is interested in various enterprises deahng with the
development of community life and is one of the stockholders of the Upsala
Creamery Company, having in the past served as vice-president of that
organization. Mr. Anderson is also a member of the Elmdale Stock Ship-
pers' Association. He is a member of the Baptist church at Elmdale and
is one of the faithful members of that society. He has charge of the church
building and serves the society also as moderator. In politics he is a I'iepub-
lican, although not an especially active worker in the ranks. Mr. Anderson
is a man of excellent principles and proper ambitions, devoted to home and
family. His farm and buildings bear witness to the fact that he is a good
manager and possesses good business ability, while his well-regulated mode
of life stamps him as a man of uprightness and unvarying integrity. Per-
sonally, he has many warm friends for he is ever willing to render any
service to assist his fellow man.
WILLIAM RODMAN.
Among the best-known citizens of Eagle Bend, Todd county, Minne-
sota, and among the most prosperous business men and bankers of Todd
county, is William Rodman, who is a native of Goodhue county, Minnesota,
where he was born on April lo, 1868.
Mr. Rodman is the son of Martin and Mary Pauline (Morris) Rod-
man, the former of whom was a well-known citizen of New York, Illinois,
Wisconsin and Minnesota, a farmer and school teacher by occupation and
a veteran of the Civil War. He was born in Schoharie county, New York,
May 25, 1832. Martin Rodman was the son of Asa and Oliver (Culver)
Rodman, who were natives of Massachusetts. After their marriage, Asa
and Oliver Rodman settled in Schoharie county. New York, vvheje they
remained during their entire lives, and where they were engaged in farming.
Asa Rodman died in 1842 and his wife, Olive (Culver) Rodman, died in
December, 1880, at the age of ninety years. They were the parents of
fifteen children, thirteen of whom grew to manhood and womanhood, were
married and had children of their own.
Martin Rodman was educated in the rural schools of New York state,
and when sixteen vears old entered the Schoharie Academy, studying there
644 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
for eighteen months. Afterward he wa.s engaged in ship building in iNlew
York city for one and one-half years and then returned to his home, teach-
ing school the next winter in Schoharie county. During the following
summer he worked at the carpenter's trade, and in the fall entered the New
York Conference Seminary where he was a student for one year. He then
made a trip to Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois and during the winter of 1853-54,
taught school in the state of Illinois, '^n the summer of 1854, he worked at
the carpenter's trade at Lockport, Illinois, after which he obtained a position
on the Illinois Central railroad with headquarters at Chicago. In 1854 he
enlisted in the regular army and after having served one enlistment was dis-
charged and returned to Chicago where he remained one winter. After-
ward he made a trip to Wisconsin and followed the carpenter's trade during
the summers of 1859 and i860.
In April, 1861, Martin Rodman enlisted in the Second Regiment. Wis-
consin Volunteer Infantry, and served until June 27, 1863, when he received
an honorable discharge at Philadelphia. He participated during the first
tL-rm of his service in the first and second battles of Bull Run and spent a
week in fighting along the Rappahannock. Mr. Rodman was wounded in
the second battle of Bull Run and, as a result of his wounds, was confined
in the hospital at Washington, D. C, and in a hospital at Philadelphia for
ten months. Subsequently, he was detailed for provost duty and remained
at Camac's Woods hospital until discharged. .After his discharge he returned
to New York state and taught school during the winter of 1863-64. He
then took u]) the study of medicine during the summer of 1864 and tiie
winter of 1864-65 and the summer of 1865. In the fall of 1864. however,
he had enlisted in the Veteran Reserve Corps and was discharged in Novem-
ber of the following year, .\fterward he took a trip to Illinois. Iowa and
Wisconsin and in the spring of 1866 settled in Goodhue county, Minnesota,
where he farmed for nine years.
Upon leaving Goodhue county, Martin i\odman moved to Red \\ ing,
Minnesota, and there engaged in the grocery business, but in 1881 sold out
and moved to Todd county, Minnesota, ]nuThasing a farm in Reynolds town-
ship, where he farmed for several years. In 1883 he retired from the farm
and moved to Long Prairie. Minnesota, where he lived until his death on
March 10, 1904.
Mrs. Mary Rodman was also a native of New York state and lived at
home with her parents in that state until her marriage. She is now living
at Long Prairie and has three children, William, Fred and Bert. The late
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 645
Martin Rodman was a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Grand
Army of the Repubhc, Mr. and Mrs. Rodman were married on October 3,
1866. Mrs. Rodman, before her marriage, was Mary Pauline Morris, the
daughter of David and Sally (Millington) Morris.
Born and reared in Goodhue county, Minnesota, William Rodman was
educated at Red Wing, Minnesota, and after completing the common
branches entered the high school at the age of twelve years but as his parents
moved to Todd county in 1881 he was unable to finish the course there
and only attended that high school for a little less than one year. While
his parents were living on the farm he attended district school and when
they moved to Long Prairie he attended that high school for about one
year. After teaching in the district schools of his county for four terms
he entered Beeman's Actual Business College, at Red Wing, Minnesota,
graduating with the class of 1889. After that time he taught another term
of school in the same county and then was employed in a general store
owned by A. S. Strauss & Company, at Long Prairie, for one year.
On August 25, 1890, Mr. Rodman began work as bookkeeper for the
Bank of Long Prairie and remained with that bank until May 5, 1892,
when he moved to Eagle Bend, Minnesota, and became cashier of the Bank
of Eagle Bend, an institution that had just started business at that place.
This was a private bank with the Hon. William E. Lee as president and
continued as such until 1902, when it was merged into the i^'irst National
Bank of Eagle Bend. Mr. Rodman continued as cashier for a few years
and was finally elected as vice-president and as such continued as the active
head of the bank until September, 191 1. when his health failed. Eleven
months and ten days following this time he spent in a sanitarium at Wauke-
sha, Wisconsin, and upon the advice of his physician decided to retire from
active work in a bank and to live an out-of-door life. He then engaged in
the fancy poultry business and commenced raising high-class Single and
Rose-comb Rhode Island Red fowls until at the present time he has a large
poultry plant with fine buildings, yards and equipment and with a large
number of very high-class "Reds."
At the time that Mr. Rodman moved to Eagle Bend there was an
opening for a large amount of business to be done in the purchase and
sale of hard and soft cordwood, as the territory around Eagle Bend was
heavily wooded, and there was a large demand for the wood for fuel in
the western part of the state as well as in the states of North and South
Dakota, so the bank engaged in the business of handling cordwood and
646 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
bought and sold large quantities for a number of years. As the partners
in the bank thought that there was also a good opening at Eagle Bend for
a farm implement business they also engaged in that line for several years
before the Bank of Eagle Bend was merged into the First National Bank.
This business was also conducted under the name of the bank. At the time
that the private bank was merged into the First National Bank the fuel
and farm implement part of the business was taken over by the Eagle Bend
Implement Company, a corporation,- and all of the stock was taken by the
original partners of the Bank of Eagle Bend. This corporation also engaged
in the lumber business and is one of the most prominent business institutions
in that place. Since its organization Mr. Rodman has been its secretary
and treasurer and is still the vice-president of the bank although he is not
now active in the management of either institution.
On July 2, 1893, William Rodman was married to Lizzie B. Abbott,
who was born in Parkers Prairie township, Otter Tail county, Minnesota.
on March 20, 1873, and who is a daughter of Benjamin F. and Mary
(Crichton) Abbott. Benjamin F. Abbott and Mary Crichton were married
on October 20, 1871, and lived on their homestead in Otter Tail countv.
Minnesota, until the spring of 1883, when they moved to the village of
Eagle Bend and engaged in the mercantile business until his death in 1888.
The Abbott store was the first one in Eagle Bend, and at the time, only two
other families were living in the town. After her husband's death. Mrs.
Abbott continued the business for several years and then retired and lived
with her daughter, Mrs. Rodman, until her death on October 24, 1913.
Mr. Abbott was a widower at the time of his marriage to Mary Crichton
and by a former marriage had five children, two of whom are now living.
Edward, of Long Beach, California, and .Mbert, of Eagle Bend, Minnesota.
Gilbert died when about fourteen years of age, Mary was married to L. P.
T>ccch and died in t888, and Lawrence died in infancy. To the second
marriage of Mr. Alibott three children were bom and are now living: Mrs.
Lizzie B. Rodman and .Andrew, of Eagle Bend, and Mrs. Evelyn M. Gilpin,
of Osseo, Wisconsin. Mrs. Lizzie B. (Abbott) Rodman moved to Eagle
Bend with her parents and was educated in that community. She taught
school in Todd county for two years and made lier home with her parents
until her marriage in 1893.
Mr. and Mrs. William Rodman never had any children. William Rod-
man has been a life-long Republican but now aligns himself with the pro-
gressive element of that party. He has always taken a deep interest in the
political affairs of the country and has helped in the organization work of
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 647
his party. He has always taken a large interest in local public aflfairs and
has been the secretary of the local school board, secretary of the Eagle Bend
Commercial Club, secretary of the first volunteer tire department of Eagle
Bend, a member of the village council for a number of terms and is now
serving his fifth term as president of the village council, or mayor.
Mr. Rodman is now a director in the Minnesota branch of the Rhode
Island Red Club of America and the superintendent of the poultry depart-
ment of the Todd County Agricultural Society, or what is generally known
as the Todd County Fair Association. For many years he was one of the
trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Eagle Bend. Mr. Rodman
is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and has been the worthy
advisor of Eagle Camp No. 3397, Modern Woodmen of America, and has
been noble grand of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge in Eagle
Bend.
JOHN D. MARLIN, JR.
John D. Marlin, Jr., dealer in real estate and kindred lines, was born
on January 7. 1S71, in Page county, Iowa, son of John D. and Melissa
(Stratton) Marlin, both natives of Pennsylvania, the former born in Arm-
strong county, July 4, 1835, and the latter a native of Beaver county, born
on December 9, 1834. John D., Sr., was engaged in farming all the active
years of his life and after his marriage on September 17, 1857, he came
west in the hope of having still greater opportunities in his chosen vocation.
He lived in Illinois at the beginning of the Civil War and enlisted as a
private in 1862, at Springfield, in the One Hundred and Twelfth Regiment,
lUinois Volunteer Infantry. He served until the close of hostilities and saw
much active service in the Southern states. After returning home, he
brought his family to Page county, Iowa, in 1867, and was engaged in agri-
cultural work there until about 1895. He owned and operated eighty acres
of land and was a heavy stock feeder. His farm was skillfully managed, well
improved and was considered one of the show farms of the county. John
D. Marlin, Sr., also owned three hundred acres of land in Kansas. He
retired from active work some years ago, and died on September 10. 191 5,
and was buried at Clarinda. Iowa. Mrs. Melissa Marlin makes her home
with John D., Jr., the immediate subject of this sketch.
There were three children in the family of John D. Marlin, Sr„ John
D., Jr., being the youngest. Ella J. (Mrs. Hepburn) died in 1894, and
648 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Lizzie A. (Mrs. Hoge) resides at Heavner, Oklahoma. John D., Jr., passed
his boyhood on the farm in Page county, Iowa, attending its public schools,
where he received his elementary education. He later attended Amity Col-
lege at College Springs, Iowa, where he took the normal course. In 1888 he
entered Western Normal Coillege at Shenandoah, Iowa, for a complete com-
mercial course. He was graduated from that institution in 1890 and in
the same year he came to Staples and assumed the position of bookkeeper
in the Staples bank. He continued in that relation until 1894 when he
resigned, and upon the organization of another bank the following year
he became its cashier. A few years later he purchased the business of the
bank and became its sole owner. He disposed of that business in 1900,
when he became interested in real estate and insurance, in which he has
continued and has succeeded so well that he is considered among the leading
men in this section of the state in his chosen field of endeavor. In point
of years of service, he is now the oldest man in his line in Staples.
Mr. Marlin is the owner of considerable city property and in addition
has eight hundred and twenty acres of land scattered throughout the northern
central counties of the state. He has taken a keen interest in the com-
mercial life of Staples ever since first coming here and has done much to
advance its best interests along legitimate lines.
John D. Marlin was married on May 18, 1898, to Etta O. Tull, an
accomplished young woman, born on May 15, 1877, in .Aitkin, this state,
and a graduate of the Staples high school. Mrs. Marlin has considerable
talent as an artist, being quite accomplished in the use of the brush in oils,
water colors and also as a decorator of fine china. Her talent, which was
early recognized by her parents, was developed by private instruction, and
she has demonstrated that she possesses far more than ordinary ability in
this line.
Mrs. Marlin is a daughter of David K. and Sarah A. (Cornish) Tull,
both natives of Wisconsin. David Tull has for many years been connected
with the Northern Pacific railroad, first as station agent at Audubon ; later
he was proprietor of a general store, at Aitkin, Minnesota, and he is now
located at Minneapolis where he is freight agent at the north town transfer
point of the Northern Pacific railroad.
Mr. and Mrs. Marlin have an interesting family of three children. Lois
B., the eldest, born on January 14, 1900; John F... May 6, 1905. and Harry
A., May 24, 1908. Roth Mr. Marlin and his wife arc members of the
Methodist Episcopal church, to which he gives liberal support. In politics.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 649
Mr. Marlin endorses the principles of the Republican party, lie served his
party one term as county commissioner, was at one time city clerk of Staples
and is now justice of the peace, and in the discharge of the duties of these
various offices, his actions have met with llie hearty approval of his fellow
citizens. Mr. Marlin is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons,
also the Modem Woodmen of America and the Royal Arcanum. By his
honorable and upright course, Mr. Marlin has won the confidence and esteem
of his fellow citizens and he and his wife move in the best social circles,
genuinely liked l>y a large number of friends.
GEORGE DUBBELS.
Among the farmers of Belle Prairie township, Morrison county, Alinne-
sota, none are more esteemed than George Dubbeis, of Little Falls, Minne-
sota, who at the age of twenty-five years has established himself in the
sincere regard of his fellow citizens.
George Dubbeis was born on January 7, 1890, and is the son of Glaus
and Elizabeth (Loose) Dubbeis, to whom ten children were born, all of
whom are living. This family consisted of five sons and five daughters.
Olmstead county, Minnesota, was the liirthplace of George Dubbeis and
it was here that his father settled, when a young man of twenty-one years,
upon his arrival in America, from Germany. Glaus Dubbeis was born
on December 9, 1854, in Germany, and after his emigration to America,
pursued the vocation of agriculture on a farm of two hundred and ten acres,
on which place he is now living. In 19 10 he purchased one hundred and
seventy-two acres of land, which he sold to his son, Paul, at twenty-one
dollars per acre. The farm that was sold to the son, Paul, is located in Belle
Prairie township. Morrison county, Minnesota. ,
The mother of this sturdy family of ten was born on February 11,
1866, in Germany, and came to America when a girl of sixteen years. George
Dubbeis was reared on the home farm and received his education 'in tliie
district schools of Olmstead countw Minnesota. He remained at home
until 1910, at which time he had reached the age of twenty years, .\fterward
he lived with his brother, working out and renting land for three years,
when he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in I5el!e I'rairie
township, at twenty-eight dollars per acre, and settled down to farming
his own place.
650 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
On November 20, 1913, George Dubbels was married to Ida Gablenz.
who is the daughter of Frank Gablenz, and was born on May 28, 1892, at
Hector, Minnesota. Mr. Dubbels now has a well-improved farm which is
well adapted for raising of the Holstein cattle and Duroc-Jersey hogs in
which he takes great pride.
George Dul)l)els is an enthusiastic Democrat and lends his best energies
to the propaganda of the party principles. He bids fair to become one of the
leading citizens of his community.
STEPHEN C. VASALY.
The son of a well-known pioneer and business man of Little Falls,
Minnesota, Stephen C. Vasaly has become well known in the commercial
circles of this city. He is at the present time secretary and treasurer of
the Vasaly Realty Company, part owner of the Herald Printing Company
and a lawyer by profession.
On Jiis mother's side, Mr. Vasaly is descended from a distinguished
Italian family, liis uncle having been, for many vears, a senator of the
Italian kingdom. Mr. Vasaly is a native of Italy, born in the province of
Piedmont on July 8, i860. He is the son of Louis and Frances (Riberij
Va.saly, the former of whom was born in the northern part of Italv in 1822,
and who, after graduating from college, studied pharmacy. He also served
in the Sardinian army for a number of years and took part in the Crimean
War. In 1858 he was married to Frances Riberi, the daughter of a well-
known Italian official. Mrs. Louis \'asaly was born in ltal\ and to her
and her husband were born ten children, three of whom died in infancy.
The seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Louis Vasaly who grew to maturity
are as follow: Stephen C, Petronilla R., Charles E., member of the state
board of control; Spirit J., optometrist; Peter I., manager Herald I'rinting
Company; Ro.se F.. and Louis W., attorney.
In 1863 Louis Vasaly came to America, afterward joining the Union
army as a private, in \ew York he was connected with the first Italian
newspaper published in this countr>'. Being a druggist by profession, he was
soon appointed hospital steward after joining the Union army and retained
that ])osition until the close of the war. He was then appointed post trader
;it I't. Ripley, Minnesota, and remained there for four vears. In 1868 he
returned to his native land and brought back witli him his family. The)'
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 65I
settled first at Ft. Ripley, but in 1870 moved to Little Falls, where he opened
a drug store, which he operated for many years. At the same time, he
also operated a general mercantile store and a hotel. He became interested
in lumber and real estate and acquired considerable improved property in
Little Falls and some land in the country. One of the pioneers of Morrison
county, he contributed largely to the development of this section of the
state. He was independent in politics and a mem])er of the Catholic church.
For many years he was a member of the Little Falls school board.
Stephen C. X'asaly, who was educated in the public schools of Little
Falls, attended a little old-fashioned red school house and afterward took
a commercial course at St. John's University at Collegevillc, Stearns county,
Minnesota, graduating from the institution in [878. Afterwards, until
twenty-five years old, he assisted his father in the business at Little Falls and
then went to Janesville, Wisconsin, and attended a school of telegraphy and
stenography. After graduating from this school Mr. Vasaly took up teleg-
raphy and stenography in a railroad office in Chicago, but followed this only
one year, when he came to Little Falls and was appointed deputy register of
deeds, a position which he held for one and one-half years. Mr. Vasaly was
next employed by the firm of Kern & Richardson, attorneys, at St. Paul,
Minnesota, and by the Pinkerton National Detective Agency as chief clerk
in the St. Paul office. After serving for ten years in this capacity, and
having in the meantime completed a night course in law, in 1900 he came to
Little Falls and settled permanently. During the past fifteen years Mr.
Vasaly has not only practiced law but has done a large business in real
estate and mortgage loans. Fie is one of the influential factors in the com-
mercial life of Little Falls and Morrison county.
On June 25, 1907, Stephen C. X^asaly was married to l<"elicite Fortier,
a native of Canada, born on July 17, iS8t. Mrs. Vasaly was educated in
Canada. To Mr. and Mrs. Vasaly have been born two children, Stephen J.
and Cecile.
Mr. Vasaly is a Democrat in politics and is a member of the Catholic
church. He belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the
Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Order of I'oresters, the Yeomen, the
Modern Brotherhood of America, the Modern Woodmen of America, the
Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Equitable Fraternal Union, the
Improved Order of Red Men and the Loyal Order of Moose. For several
years he has been a member of the Little Falls school board and of the
iibrar}' board. He is also a member of the hoard of public works and active
in all' matters tending toward the development and progress of his home
community.
652 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
JAMES HART.
Long Prairie, Minnesota, is proud of its many thriving enterprises, but
there is none in which the city and in which Todd county takes a greater
measure of pride than in the mercantile establishment founded by the late
James Hart in 1887. This firm is one of the largest in the state of Minne-
sota, and until his death in 1905 its president and manager, from 1887 to
1905, was Mr. Hart. Since his death the business has been admirably con-
ducted by his three sons. Under their management it has outgrown its
present quarters and plans are now under way for a splendid new building
in which the store is to be housed.
The late James Hart, founder of the general mercantile store of James
Hart & Sons, was born at Weeks, St. Marys, Cornwall, England, and when
a lad of fourteen years came to America with his parents. They settled at
La Crosse, Wisconsin, living there for a number of years, and later in differ-
ent ]>arts of the state of Wisconsin. Subsequently, Mr. Hart settled at Long
Prairie, Todd county, and it was here that he met and married Sarah Eliza-
beth Barnes, at that time a resident of P.urnhamville townshi]). Todd county.
She is the daughter of John and Hannah E. (Wood) Barnes and was
born at Edenville, New York. Mrs. Hart's mother, Hannah E. Wood, was
the daughter of Solomon and Susan (McCoy) Wood, the former of whom
was a soldier in the War of 1812. Solomon Wood's father, John Wood,
was a major in the Revolutionary army. Mrs. Hart came with her father
to Red Wing, Minnesota, when a girl of twelve years, .\fter living at Red
Wing for four )ears, she went to Bangor, Wisconsin, where for some time
she lived with her two aunts, Mrs. William Sawyer and Mrs. Baxter. After-
ward, she returned to Minnesota and settled in Burnhamville township, where
she lived at the time of her marriage to Mr. Hart.
Mr. and Mrs. James Hart were the ])arents of six children, all of win mi
are living. H. K. Hart, who was born in Todd county, was educated in
Long Prairie and at Browerville. He also attended the Caton Business
College at Alinneapolis, Minnesota. He married Lottie Sherman and has
one son, Royce Denton. Charles W.. the second child, who was born in
Todd county, Minnesota, was educated at Long Prairie and at Browerville.
He married Clara Murphy and has one son, Harold Charles. Mrs. Clara
Hart died some years ago and Mr. Hart was married, secondly, to Cecile
Buckingham, and to them ha\e been born three children, James Sylvester,
Robert Wood and Donald I'.hner. Irving E.. the third child, was also edu-
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 653
cated at Long Prairie and at Browerville. He married Etta Hermes and
to them has been born one son, Richard Peter. The three daughters born
to Mr. and Mrs. James Hart are Mrs. Jeanette Sarff, Mrs. Eva Hillman and
Grace. Mrs. James Hart died at Long Prairie, September i6, 19 15.
Since the death of James Hart, in 1905, the business which he estab-
Hshed at Long Prairie has been conducted by his three sons, H. E., Charles
W. and Irving E. The Hart store is one of the largest in Minnesota. Until
a shore time ago the firm owned a large store at Browerville, in Todd county,
and another at Hibbing. in St. Louis county. These holdings, however, have
been disposed of. In the spring of 1916 the Hart brothers will erect one
of the finest business blocks in Todd county. The building which they now
occupy is a splendid structure but in recent years the business has grown
so fast that a much larger building is necessary.
The Harts ha\'e alw'ays been leaders in local enterprises. Their busi-
ness genius has contributed materially to the ci\ic, moral and educational
advancement of Long Prairie and Todd countv.
ALEX ANDERSON.
Alex Anderson, a successful merchant of Upsala, Morrison county,
Minnesota, and dealer in harness and implements, was lx)rn in the town
where he now lives on December 29, 1884. Mr. Anderson is the son of
John and Sophia (Nelson) Anderson, the former of whom was born in
Sweden, and who after coming to the United States lived at first at James-
town, New York, for about ten years. He was there employed as a smelterer
and was there married. In about 18S0 he came to Upsala and since that
time has been engaged in farming forty acres of land aljoiit one mile east
of the town. He bought the farm upon coming here. Mrs. Sophia (Nelson)
Anderson is also a native of Sweden, who came alone from her native land
to America. She has borne her husband eight children, of whom Vena,
the second born, and \"ictoria, the youngest, are deceased. The living chil-
dren are, Anna, Alex, John, August, Alvina and Ruth. Mr. and Mrs. John
Anderson are members of the Swedish Lutheran church. Mr. Anderson
was the first postmaster at Upsala. He is a Republican in politics.
Alex Anderson was educated in the common schools of Upsala, and
after finishing school assisted his father on the farm i)art of the time. When
he was only twelve years old he went to Royalton and for a time worked
654 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
for John Swartz, who ran a harness shop. After three years he had suffi-
ciently mastered the trade that he was able to work as a journeyman harness
maker. At fifteen years old, he came home and for the next three years
worked for the Farmers' Co-operative Creamery Company. At the age
of eighteen he went to Ferndale, Washington, where he engaged in saw-
mill work, remaining two years. When only twenty years old he came back
to Upsala and rented eighty acres of land in Elmdale township. He farmed
this place for three years and then rented two hundred and forty acres of
land which he farmed for two years. In 1912 he rented one hundred and
twenty acres of land in Elmdale township and is still farming the land. In
October, 1913, Mr. Anderson opened a harness shop in Upsala and in the
spring of 1915, in partnership with his brother-in-law, Xels Person, he
purchased a business lot and built a magnificent new home for the harness
business. The building is fifty by fifty feet. In the spring of 191 5 he
also added implements to his harness business and has a good trade both in
harness and in implements. Mr. Anderson is a stockholder in the Farmers'
Co-operative Creamery Association.
On July 14, 1909. Alex Anderson was married to Thea Person, a nati\e
of Upsala. born on August 23, 1889. Mrs. Anderson is the daughter of
Ola and Engred (Johnson) Person, both of whom were born in Sweden
but who came separately to the United States. They were married in St.
Paul, Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Alex Anderson have had two children.
Vivian and Floyd.
Although an ardent Republican, Mr. Anderson has never aspired to
office, never having had time to devote to politics. He and his wife are mem-
bers of the Eutheran church. Mr. Anderson is a member of the Yeomen.
JOHN BERGLUND.
Six miles southeast of Motley, Minnesota, and fourteen miles east
and south of Staples, Minnesota, is a magnificent farm of six hundred and
forty acres, owned by John Berglund, a prosperous farmer and stockman
of Motley township, who has enjoyed a remarkable success since coming
to America in 1890, a quarter of a century ago. The Berglund farm is
located in sections 34 and 27 and of the six hundred and forty acres, one
hundred acres are under cultivation. Mr. Berglund raises on an average
sixty acres of corn every year and has won many prizes on his corn. He
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNKSOTA. 655
has a magnificent barn fifty-four by fifty-eight feet, which is painted red,
and a silo which holds one hundred and thirty tons. The house, which is
painted green, comprises seven rooms. In addition to grain, the proprietor
of this farm is an extensive breeder of roan Shorthorn cattle and Poland
China hogs, upon both of which he has taken first prize at various fairs.
Twenty head of milk cattle are kept on the farm and the cream which they
produce is sold to the Motley creamery.
John Berglund was born on October 23, 1868, in Sweden, and is the
son of James and Kathrine (Olson) Berglund, the former of whom was
born in September, 1841, in Sweden, and who has been a farmer and lumber-
man. He is now living in his native land, but has made two trips across
the Atlantic to visit his children in America. Mrs. Kathrine (Olson) Berg-
lund, who was born in 1841, in Sweden, died in 1885. She bore her hus-
band nine children, four of whom are still living and who reside in America.
Mrs. Christena Westland lives in Minneapolis; John is the subject of this
sketch; Emil, who is a furrier by trade, is the manager of the Sunquist l-'ur
Store at St. Paul, Minnesota; Oscar is a merchant at West Duluth.
John Berglund was educated in the public schools of Sweden and after
finishing his education worked in the lumber Inisiness until 1890, when he
immigrated to Rockford, Illinois. At Rockford he engaged in the car-
penter's trade, but in 1893 left Rockford and removed to Little Falls, where
he engaged in carpenter contract work. During the same year he purchased
land in section 26, of Motley township, for which he paid four dollars and
one-half an acre. Mr. Berglund's youngest brother remained on the farm
with the former's wife while he followed his trade. After a few years
he gave up building and engaged in the lumber business and farming. After
cultivating twenty-five acres, he sold out and removed to Motley, Minne-
sota, where he engaged in the lumlDcr business with the Nicholas Lumber
Company, of Little Falls. After three years the family removed to the
farm where they now reside, six miles .southeast of Motley.
In 1890 John Berglund was married to Augusta Miller, who was born
in September, 1861, in Sweden, and who left her native land in 1882 with
an uncle, Nels Gernberg, a missionary, who settled at Rockford, Illinois.
Mrs. Berglund is a graduate of the schools of her native land. She is the
daughter of Lars and Lizzie (Gernberg) Miller, the former of whom was a
soldier. . .
Mr. and Mrs. John Berglund have had ten children, of whom Chnstma
Elizabeth, the eldest, and Mildred, the youngest, are deceased. The other
children, Albin, David, Paul. Elfredia. Axel. Theodore, Ruth and Walter live
656 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
at home with their parents. Albin is a graduate of the Commercial College
at Duluth, Minnesota.
John Eerglund is one of the best-known citizens and farmers in this
section of Morrison county. He is an ardent Republican and is now serving
on the school board. Formerly he was town supervisor and a member of the
Motley town council. Mr. and Mrs. Berglund and family are members of
the Methodist church. Mr. Berglund is a member of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows.
FRANK P. DAVIES.
Frank F. Davies, a prosperous farmer of Round Prairie township, Todd
county, Minnesota, is a native of Blue Earth county, Minnesota, where he
was born on August 16, 1858. Mr. Davies is a son of Alvin and Sarah M.
(Ives) Davies, the former of whom was a native of Oneida and the latter
of St. Lawrence counties, New York.
After the marriage of Alvin and Sarah M. (Ives) Davies in New York
state, they came west to the state of Wisconsin and for a time resided in
Fond du Lac. From Fond du Lac they moved to Belle Plaine, in Scott
county, Minnesota, in 1856, and after living there for a short time moved
to Blue Earth county, Minnesota, and pre-empted a tract of land where
they lived until 1884. In that year the parents moved to Todd county and
purchased a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, which is now occu-
pied l)y their son, Frank P. Mr. Davies' father died in June, 1897, and
his mother in December, 1895. They were the parents of six children, five of
whom are living, Henry, who is a resident of Roseau county, Minnesota;
P'rank P., the subject of this sketch; Minnie E., the wife of Edwin E. Blake,
of Orofino, Idaho; Charles J., who is a resident of Kermit, North Dakota,
and Carrie B., who is the wife of William Scoles, of Idaho. Jerome, the
second child in the family, was a resident of Round Prairie township and
died in 1912.
I'Vank P. Da\ics received a good education in tlie common schools of
Blue J'",arlh county, Minnesota, and later attended the state normal school
at Mankato. After completing his education, he was engaged in teaching-
school for twelve years. I'"or the first five years he devoted his attention
exclusively to teaching but during the next seven years taught school in the
winter and farmed in the summer. He now owns one huiulred and sixty
acres of well-impro\ed land in Round i'rairie township, upon which he has
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 657
erected a splendid house which is modern in every respect. He has made
a specialty of stock raising and now has a fine herd of Holstein and Jersey
cattle. He is president of the Little Sauk Rural Telephone Company and
a member of the Live Stock Shipping Association of Gray Eagle.
On March 22, 1882, Frank P. Davies was married to Olive A. Foster,
who is a daughter of Joseph F. and Susan A. (Williams) Foster. Mrs.
Davies was born in Dodge county, Wisconsin. Her father was a native of
New York state and her mother of Vermont. They came to Minnesota in
pioneer times and settled in Blue Earth county. Mrs. Davies' father died in
that county and her mother in Le Sueur county.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank P. Davies have been the parents of five children,
four of whom are living and one died in infancy. The living children are,
Ida B., the wife of Clarence E. Pearl, of Saskatchewan, Canada; Fay O.,
who married Lawrence Claffy, of Two Harbors, Minnesota; Benjamin H.,
and Ives W., both of whom are at home.
Mr. Davies' father served three years as a member of Company E, Ninth
Regiment, Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War. His father
was an ardent Republican in politics and his son is also identified with this
party. Frank P. Davies has been clerk of Round Prairie township since
March, 1915, and was formerly supervisor of the township. He has also
served as a school director. Mr. Davies is a member of Sons of Veterans and
the Modern Woodmen of America. The Davies family all belong to the
Congregational church.
OTTO J. BRICK.
Otto J. Brick, cashier of the First State Bank of Genola, Morrison
county, Minnesota, is a son of Simon P. and Susie (Lieser) Brick. He was
bom and educated in Little Falls, graduating from high school in 19 12.
Mr. Brick entered the employ of the Inrst National Bank of Little
Falls in 1912. He resigned in 1913 and became assistant cashier of the
First State Bank of Genola (which was then New Pierz). and became
cashier of the bank in January, 1915- ^^e also handles real estate and
insurance. He was elected village clerk of Genola in March, 1915. Mr.
Brick is a Democrat. He is a Catholic and a member of the Knights of
Columbus.
The First State Bank of Genola, of which Mr. Brick is cashier, was
(42)
658 MORKISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
chartered in December, 191 1, and has since enjoyed a period of steady and
uninterrupted growth. The straightforward business methods of the insti-
tution are becoming more and more appreciated by the people of eastern
Morrison county, who are to be congratulated upon having in their \icinity
an institution with the strength, character and backing of the First State
Bank of Genola.
PETER J. VASALY,
Morrison county has been especially favored in the personnel of its
newspaper men and among the representatives of this profession in Morri-
son county is Peter J. Vasaly, editor and manager of the Little Falls Herald.
During his career in journalism he has not only been successful in a busi-
ness way, but through his personal influence and the power of his news-
paper he has had much to do with the material advancement of Little Falls
and Morrison county. Mr. Vasaly enjoys a large measure of influence in
the community where his newspaper circulates and is known throughout
Morrison county as an aggressive and fair-minded journalist, as well as a
successful business man.
Peter J. Vasaly is a native of Little Falls, born on April i, 1875. He
is the son of Louis and Frances (Riberi) Vasaly. A biographical sketch of
the former appears elsewhere in this volume.
Peter J. Vasaly was educated in the common schools of T.ittle Falls.
When he was twelve years old he began selling newspapers in his native
city. At fifteen years he took up the printing trade in the Herald printing
office and later was employed by the Transcript until 1895, when in jiartner-
ship with his two brothers, Stephen and (diaries, he ])urchased the stock
of the Herald Printing Company from John Sheets. Immediately after
the plant had been purchased. Peter J. Vasaly became foreman of the
mechanical department ami held this position for many years. He was then
made manager and editor of the plant and this position he now holds. He
is vice-president of the Northern Minnesota Editorial Association and is
well known in Minnesota state journalism.
Mr. Vasaly is heavily interested in real estate and is a stockholder in
the Vasaly Realty Company, as well as vice-president of this corporation.
On November 19, 1900, Peter J. Vasaly was married to Anna A. Died-
rich, of Little Falls, a native of Steams county, born at Spring Hill, Septem-
ber 30, 1878. Mrs. \'asaly is a daughter of Joseph and Kathcrinc (Gross)
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 659
Diedrich, both of whom were born in Wisconsin. Mrs. Vasaly is one of
two children still living born to her parents, the other being Dr. Joseph W.
Diedrich.
Peter J. Vasaly is a Democrat. He was on the Democratic electoral
ticket from the sixth Minnesota congressional district in 1912 and was dele-
gate to many conventions of his party. Mr. Vasaly is at present serving as
chairman of the Democratic county committee of Morrison county. He is
also a member of the state Democratic central committee. For a number of
years he has been active in the Firemen's Relief Association and is first
assistant chief of the Little Falls fire department. He served as treasurer
of the relief association and fire department for a number of years. Mr.
Vasaly is a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Modern Woodmen of
America, the Modern Brotherhood of America, the Mutual Benefit Associa-
tion and the Improved Order of Red Men. In the latter lodge he is a past
sachem. Mr. and Mrs. Vasaly are members of St. Xavier's Catholic church
at Little Falls.
\.
JOHN HEGG.
Among the citizens of Parker township, Morrison county, Minnesota,
who have built up a comfortable home and surrounded themselves with
good farming lands and personal property, few have attained a more pleas-
ing degree of success than the respected subject of this sketch. With few
opportunities except what his own efforts were capable of mastering and
with many discouragements to overcome, he has made a good success in
life and has the gratification of knowing that the community in which he
has chosen to dwell has been benefited by his sincere efforts to lead a worthy
life and discharge his full duty as a citizen.
John Hegg is a native of Sweden, hnvn on December 7, 1864. a son of
Samuel and Lena (Limberg) Hegg. There were originally eight children in
the family, two of them now being deceased. Mr. Hegg received his educa-
tion in his native land and while still a young man had mastered the trade
of a tanner. In 1885 he emigrated to this country, coming directly to this
section, and in Red Wing, this state, he secured a position working at his
trade. He later worked for a time at his trade in Minneapolis, and in 1902
left the cities and came to this county, where he has since devoted his
energies along agricultural lines. He owns eighty acres of well-improved
66o MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
land and has twenty acres under cultivation. He gives his best attention to
the raising of a good grade of Guernsey cattle and each year has a goodly
number ready for the markets. His residence contains seven rooms, is a
story and a half high, painted brown, and the general appearance of the
whole place is complimentary to the owner. Mr. Hegg can point with pride
to his homestead, for as it now stands it represents many years of hard
work and careful planning.
Samuel Hegg, father of the immediate subject of this sketch, was born
in Sweden on June 20, 1839, and left there in 1896, about nine years after
his son, John, emigrated. He settled in Minneapolis and worked in that
city for several years as a laborer. He then came to this county, where he
purchased a tract of eighty acres in section 36, of Parker township, which
land he farmed for twelve years, making considerable improvements thereon.
He then sold out and moved to North Dakota, where he and his wife (also
a native of Sweden, born in 1842), are now living, engaged in farming.
In January, of 1888, John Hegg was united in marriage with Amenda
Johnson, also a native of Sweden, born on March 17. 1867. She left her
native land when a girl of seventeen and came to Minneapolis, where she
met and married Mr. Hegg. They are the parents of seven children, as
follow: Nellie (Mrs. Little), residing at Osgood, Iowa; Stella, Paul,
Enoch, William, Roy and Hazel at jiome. These young peoi)le move in the
best social circles of the community and are promising young men and
women.
Mr. Hegg is succeeding along all lines, as he deserves to, for he has
brought to his labors the best of his brain and brawn. When he first came
to this country, he and his little family lived in a little log house, with a
small log bam and other small outbuildings, and he is justly entitled to be
proud of the improvements he has been able to make. In politics, Mr. Hegg
votes independently, and has satisfactorily served Parker township for one
term as road supervisor. Although not a member of any church, he is an
attendant upon divine worship and gives of his means toward the cause.
Mr. Hegg is a man of many ])raiseworthy traits of character, being scrupu-
lously honest in all his dealings with the world, generous and pleasant. He
jxjssesses good judgment, advocates clean i)oIitics. wholesome living and
honesty in business. It is needless to add such a man lias a host of friends
and stands high in the estimation of those who know him. In addition to
his private interests, Mr. Hegg is a shareholder in the Randall Co-operative
Creamery Company.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 66l
LYMAN WARREN AYER.
Few men living in Morrison county, Minnesota, have a more interesting
personal history than Lyman Warren Ayer, who, by occupation or profes-
sion, is an agriculturist, a surveyor, a cruiser and an author. Few men, at
the age of fifty, possess the strength of body and mind which he possesses.
Born in what is now Pine county, Minnesota, at the Pokeguma Mis-
sion, in 1834, he is now eighty-one years old. Lyman Warren Ayer is the
son of the well-known and widely-beloved missionary, Frederick Ayer,
whose wife was Elizabeth Taylor.
Frederick Ayer, who died shortly after the Civil War. was born in
Stockbridge, Massachusetts, but, after reaching manhood, he went to Utica,
New York, where he clerked for Mr. Whipple, the father of the late Epis-
copal bishop of Minnesota. Mr. Ayer was in the employ of Mr. Whipple
for several years but finally left Utica as a missionary, sent out by the
board of foreign missions in 1830. He went to Mackinaw as a teacher of
the Indian school, which was partly supported by the government. It was
there that he met Miss Taylor, who was also a teacher and who shortly
afterwards became his wife. They were married in Mackinaw. Elizabeth
Taylor was bom in Heath, Massachusetts, and, after growing to young
womanhood, became prominent as a teacher and was the first assistant to
Miss Lyons, the founder of the seminary at Mt. Holyoke, which is today
widely known and recognized as one of the most prominent seminaries for
girls in America.
In 1832 or 1833, Frederick Ayer and his bride removed to what is
no\y Pine City, in Pine county, where Mr. Ayer established the Pokeguma
Mission. This mission was finally broken up by the Sioux Indians and Mr.
Ayer established a mission at Sandy lake and at Red lake in 1842. In
1848 the family came to Belle Prairie, Morrison county. It was here that he
established a school for the children of traders and the Chippewa chikiren.
It developed into a large and prosperous school.
Being a very energetic man he soon opened up a large farm, during
the first breaking of land in Morrison county. This he did with oxen and
a plow borrowed from the Hon. Henry M. Rice, but he never lost sight of
his school nor what was being done. As long as he lived he kept his eye on
the school. The school building which he erected was commodious and on
Sunday was used for a church. Mr. Ayer also erected a large home for
himself, which is probably still standing.
662 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
In 1863, during the War of the RebeUion, he was sent to Atlanta to
take charge of the freedmen's bureau. It was while living at Atlanta that
his useful life was ended. He died of pneumonia. His wife afterward
came north and lived with her son, dying at the age of ninety-six years.
Mr. Ayer gave his entire life to the education of the children of the pioneers
of this section and the children of the Indians. He performed a most useful
and honorable work and it may be said truthfully that the kevnote of his
career was service — service for all mankind.
It was in the environment of his father's school on the outpost of
civilization that Lyman W. Ayer grew to manhood. Mr. Ayer received
his entire education from his mother, with the exception of six months spent
at Red river. This school was presided over at the time by a Scotchman.
After growing to maturity, Lyman W. Ayer engaged in hunting, trap-
ping and bronco "busting." In i860 he was teaching school at the seminarv
at St. Cloud, where he met Laura Hill, who later became his wife and who
was then a student. In 1861 Mr. Ayer enlisted in the Second Minnesota
Battery of Light Artillery under Captain Hotchkiss. After being mustered
into service at Ft. Snelling, the battery was sent to St. Louis, where it
assembled and drilled. Finally it was sent down the river in boats and thence
to Shiloh to take part in the battle, which was then in progress, but the battle
was over when the battery reached that place. From that time, however.
Mr. Ayer was in many engagements and saw active service throughout the
War of the Rebellion. After the war he returned to Ft. Snelling. near St.
Paul, and was mustered out of service on August 16, 1865.
Immediately after his discharge from the Union army. Mr. .\yer went
south to Philadelphia, London county, Tennessee, where his young wife was
then teaching school. .She had followed her husband wlien he was in the
army and her thrilling experiences in getting through the Confederate lines
and linally into the Union lines seem almost incredible. After joining
Mrs. Ayer, Mr. Ayer first found employment in a lumber yard. Later
he taught school for some time and still later, his health being impaired,
he and his wife moved to Atlanta, where his father was then stationed in
charge of the freedmen's bureau. In Atlanta, Mr. and Mrs. Ayer both
taught school for eighteen months. They then came north to St. Cloud,
where they lived two years. While there Mr. Ayer was deputy county
auditor for eighteen months. Coming to Little Falls, Mr. Ayer clerked for
Hill Brothers in their general store for about one year. He then came to
Belle Prairie, settling on the old homestead farm of six hundred acres. On
this farm he spent considerable of his time, tluring the summer months espe-
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 663
cially, and for two or three years in the winter he worked in the woods
lumbering.
About 1873 ^^r. Ayer went to work for the Northern Pacific railroad,
collecting indemnity lands, surveying and cruising. He was connected with
the Northern Pacific for twelve years and then went to the Mesaba range
and worked for the Merritts, who were the first people to oix;n up the iron
business. He was only with them a short time, when he became connected
with the Duluth and Iron Range Company. Mr. Ayer is now working
for the state of Minnesota and is engaged in taking the Indian census, cruis-
ing and surveying. His remarkable vitality at his advanced age is phenom-
enal. He thinks nothing of walking forty or fifty miles in a day, cruising
and surveying.
One of the first white children born in Minnesota, Lyman Warren Ayer,
although eighty-one years old, has a perfect memory and is strong and
active. It is doubtful if there is another man in the state of his advanced
years, who can equal him in liodily strength and endurance. His mind is
as clear as a bell and today he is one of the best-informed men in the state
of Minnesota, particularly in matters pertaining to history from the Indian
times to the present. He knows their language and speaks it fluently.
Mr. Ayer's wife, who before her marriage was Laura Hill, was a
native of Maine, the daughter of Stephen and Hannah (Phillips) Hill. Mr.
and Mrs. Ayer have been the parents of two children, Ina F. and Agnes.
The latter died at the age of seventeen. Ina F. married O. B. Sims and is
the mother of five children.
HOKEN NELSON.
Someone has said that if every human life could be analyzed and
offered for study it would prove of much benefit to mankind. This, no
doubt, is true, although as a general rule we think only of those spectacular
lives serving as examples to the young and ambitious. P.ut this is not
altogether the case, for in many lives which have presented to the world
nothing of especial interest, there have been fought such battles on the field
of honor and integrity as would appeal to the most indifferent. Much
credit is due that man who has begun life on the low rungs of the ladder of
success and who without the help of influential friends has won not only a
pleasing degree of material success but has also made his influence for good
felt in such manner as marks him one of his community's leading citizens.
664 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Such, in short, is the brief outline of Hoken Nelson, subject of this short
biographical sketch.
Hoken Nelson is a native of Sweden, born on January 9, 1853, son of
Nels Person and Buel (Rasmusen) Person, both natives of Sweden, who
passed their entire lives in their native land. Nels was a brick and stone
mason by trade and lived to be about sixty-five years of age. Buel Ras-
musen, mother of Hoken Nelson, was the third wife of Nels Person, and,
like the first two, she died young. She was the mother of two children,
Hoken being the younger. The other child died an infant. At the time of
his mother's death, Hoken Nelson was but two years of age and his father
married for his fourth wife a young lady by the name of Sisa Stalberg,
who died at the age of seventy-four.
Hoken Nelson received his education in his native land, attending the
common schools until fifteen years of age, and for the following six years
he was employed in various ways. When twenty-one years of age he
decided to master the carpenter's trade, and so apprenticed himself. He
worked at that trade until the time of his marriage, when he was twenty-
seven years of age. This was in December of 1S80, and the following
May he came to the United States, locating in the city of St. Paul, where
he remained for ten years. He then came to Elmdale township, Morrison
county, where he purchased forty acres of land and started in to farm. He
later purchased an additional forty and is farming the entire tract of eighty
acres at the present time, with the exception of the acreage which he keeps
for pasture. He finds the raising of live stock a most lucrative side line to
his general business, and generally has on his farm about twenty-five head
of cattle, four horses and other stock.
Mrs. Nelson, before her marriage, was Carie Johnson, and to her and
her husband have been born four children : Tillie, Dorothea, Mary and
I^'rank. In addition to the demands upon his time incident to his farm and
its business, Mr. Nelson is al)le to evince an interest in outside matters and
is a stockholder in the Farmers Co-operative Creamery Companv. He is
one of those earnest men who feel the responsibility of citizenship and,
consequently, is interested in anything which will raise higher the standard
of civilization in the ])lace chosen by him for residence. He is a member
of the Congregational church and molds his life in accordance with its teach-
ings, while he gives stalwart support to the principles advocated bv the
Republican party. He has made a place for himself in his community and
is held high in tbe esteem of those who know him.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIKS, MINNESOTA. 665
FRANK RENICK.
One of the best-known citizens of Morrison county, Minnesota, is
Frank Renick, the esteemed treasurer of the county, making his home at
Little Falls, the county seat. Mr. Renick has the distinction of holding the
office in question longer than any predecessor, having been re-elected five
times, the last time being for a term of four years. He is nominally the
candidate of the Republican party, but his constituents are drawn from all
parties, for he is personally well known and universally respected by men
in all stations of life and of various political convictions. His repeated
re-elections are a high tribute to the manner in which he has discharged the
duties of his office, as well as an acknowledgment of the esteem in which he
is universally held.
Frank Renick is a native of Wisconsin, born near the town of Henri-
etta, in Richland county, on March 26, 1858, son of Lattimore and Lucy
H. (Joslin) Renick. Lattimore Renick was a Kentuckian by birth, born
on October 30, 1813, and throughout all the active years of his life he fol-
lowed the carpenter trade in addition to his occupation of farmer. When
nearing middle age, he located on a farm in Wisconsin, where he passed
forty-four years of his life and died in October of 1896, at the advanced
age of eighty-three years. Lattimore Renick was a man who was not only
active as concerned his private affairs, but also took much more than a
passing interest in matters pertaining to the general welfare of the com-
munity in which he had chosen to make his home. For many years he was
justice of the peace and was highly esteemed for the impartial manner in
which he meted out justice. He wa's a stanch supporter of the Democratic
party and in that capacity was active in educational affairs of his home
township. For many years he was a member of the school board and at
various times served as chairman and treasurer of the township board. He
was a man of broad charity and liberal views and left the impress of his
strong and honorable personality upon the life of the community, being
especially active at the time of its early development. Lucy (Joslin) Renick
was a native of the state of New York, born in 1826, and when a young
woman came with her family when they settled in Michigan. However,
they remained there Imt a comparatively short time, when they removed to
Wisconsin, where Lucy became the wife of Lattimore Renick and ])asse(l the
remaining vears of her life. She died on December 18, 1903, at the age
of seventv-seven vears. ATrs. Renick was a woman of mnrc than ordinary
666 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
refinement, a faithful wife and mother and many of the excellent traits of
Frank, the immediate subject of this sketch, are due to her own womanli-
ness and careful training of her children. She was the mother of a family
of eleven children, Frank being the seventh child in order of birth.
Frank Renick received his education in the common schools of Rich-
land county, Wisconsin, district school No. 6, being located not far from
the Renick homestead. After his school days were over he continued to
assist his father in the work of the farm until he was twenty-two years of
age, at which time he was married and started out in life for himself.
His first business venture was the purchase of a tract of wild land located
in Forest township, Vernon county, Wisconsin. This contained thirty-eight
acres but he did not do much toward improving it and disposed of it a
couple of years after purchasing. In March of 1885 Mr. Renick came into
Morrison county and secured the rental of a farm in Buckman township,
where he remained for the following five years. He then purchased a farm
containing three hundred and ninety-eight acres in sections 32, 33 and 28,
range 31, of Bellevue township, a small portion of which was improved.
He set about getting the balance of his acreage under cultivation, and a
few years later sold two hundred and forty acres, retaining one hundred
and fifty-eight. There he made his home until 1906, having the reputation
of being among the leading farmers of that section, and on December 6th
of the year mentioned, he moved his family to Little I'alls, there to assume
the duties of county treasurer, to which office he had been elected that fall.
Frank Renick was married on November 29, 1880, to Flora M. Ayres,
born on January 18, i860, in Sauk county, Wisconsin, daughter of Tyler F.
and Mary (b'owler) .-Xyres. Tyler F. .Xyres was born in New York state in
1836 and when a young man ventured into the then far west in search of a
good location, rinding a suitable location in Sauk county, Wisconsin. There
he married and reared his family, remaining there until 1897 when he moved
to Royalton, Minnesota, where he passetl his remaining days. He was a
farmer and also a cabinet-maker, which trade he followed all the active
years of his life. He was a veteran of the Civil War, having been engaged
in .some of the fiercest and most decisive battles of that struggle as a private
in a Wisconsin volunteer infantry regiment. He suffered such privations
and hardship while in service as practically ruined his health, preventing him
from following his former active way in life, and for many years he oper-
ated a hardware store in Union Center, Wisconsin. His death occurred at
his home in Rovalton, Minnesota, in 1908, when in his seventv-third vear.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 667
Mary (Fowler) Ayres, wife of Tyler F. Ayres and mother of Mrs. Frank
Renick, was born in Hancock county, X'irginia, on August 28, 1842, and
with her parents moved to Sauk county, Wisconsin, where she married.
She became the mother of seven chiklren, Mrs. Renick being the eklest of
the family.
Mr. and Mrs. Renick are the parents of the children, one of which,
Ernest A., died in early infancy. Those remaining are: Mary Winifred,
Charles W., Flora M. and Lucy M.
Mr. Renick is a man of broad and ready sympathy and genial disposi-
tion, and in addition to his popularity in political fields he is widely known
as one of the most active workers in various fraternal circles. He is a
member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, in which work he has
attained the chapter degree and is at the present time serving as treasurer
of his blue lodge. He is a past exalted ruler of the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks, a member of the Alodern Woodmen of America and
also of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mr. Renick is keenly inter-
ested in the workmgs of the various orders named and has gone through the
chairs in all of them. His personality is such as enables him to maintain
the dignity of the various fraternal offices and his consistent manner of
living is such as has won for him many close and admiring friends. Mr.
Renick is a man and citizen of the highest type whose influence is given
solelv for the betterment of his fellow men.
CHARLES WINSCHER.
In the agricultural history of Buckman township, Morrison county,
Minnesota, the name Winscher occupies a conspicuous place. Charles
Winscher's father, until his death a few years ago. was one of the most
prosperous farmers of the township. Charles Winscher himself is a pro-
gressive, enterprising and persevering farmer, one who loves the out-of-door
life, who is thoroughly in love with his chosen vocation. In his career in
Buckman township he has proven to be an influential factor and is now a
young man who enjoys the confidence and esteem of all his neighbors.
Charles Winscher, a native of Germany, born on June 14, 1881, is the
son of the late Carl and Mary Winscher, also natives of Germany. Mr.
Winscher's father served in the army for three years and was a veteran of
the Franco-Prussian War. He had married before the war and was a
668 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
highly educated man, having held a government position as an agricultural
instructor because of his expert knowledge of farming. In 1882 he sold
•the small farm he owned in Germany and brought the family to America.
After landing in New York city, the family came at once to Clear Lake,
Minnesota, where the late Carl Winscher purchased one hundred and sixty
acres of land in Stearns county. It was all wild timber land. There he
built a log cabin and lived for about one year, when he sold out to William
Whipper.
The family then moved to Buckman township, Morrison county, where
Mr. Winscher purchased eighty acres of land in section i. Five acres of
this was cleared and a small log cabin stood on the tract. The family
moved into the cabin and set about to clear the remainder of the eighty
acres which was accomplished in a few years. During these years the crops
were wheat and oats and were sowed by hand and harvested with a cradle,
Carl Winscher being an expert with the cradle. At the time there were
practically no good roads in the section. Mr. Winscher helped to build
many of the good roads now to be found in this locality. He kept adding
to his farm until, at his death, he owned four hundred acres, all of which
was in one body, and all of which was under cultivation e.xcept a small
amount of pasture and meadow land. During the first two years, the family
lived in the log cabin. Mr. Winscher later built an attractive two-storied
brick house and erected other buildings in keeping with the magnitude of his
farming interests. The old log cabin is still standing but is now used as a
milk house. Mr. Winscher passed away at his home at the age of seventy-
seven years and eight months. His beloved wife, who also was a native of
Germany, who was educated there and who lived with her parents until her
marriage, is still living with her sons on the home place.
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Winscher were the parents of five children, Charles.
Joini, .\ugusta, Anna and Lena. Of these children, John, who was a native
of Germany, came to America with his parents. He attended school in Ger-
many and in y\merica and has lived on the farm with his parents all his life
except (luring some fourteen winters, which he spent in lumber camps. He
now has charge of one hundred and twenty acres of land in section 12, which
is a part of his father's old home farm. His wife is also a native of Ger-
many. They have one child, John, Jr. Augusta is the wife of Rev. H. A.
Seder, of Preston, Minnesota. Anna is the wife of William Thomp.son, a
drayman at Granite Falls, Minnesota. Lena lives with her sister, Anna.
Charles Winscher was only two years old when his parents came to
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 669
America. He was, therefore, educated in this country. He lias made his
home with his parents all his life except two years, during which he worked
for Julius Jetka, a hardware dealer of Little Falls.
In 1909, Charles Winscher was married to Emma Souer, a native of
Rice, Minnesota. To this union there was born one child, who died in
infancy.
Mr. Winscher now controls one hundred and twenty acres of land in
section i, which is also a part of his father's farm.
VALENTINE E. KASPAREK.
Bom near Opplen, Germany, February 14, 1871, Valentine E. Kas-
parek was scarcely a year old when his parents, John and Susannah (Trewik)
Kasparek, immigrated to America in 1872. After arriving in America they
came west and located in the township of Two Rivers, Morrison county,
Minnesota, seven years after the organization of the township. Here the
father engaged in farming, which was his occupation in the old country.
It was on the farm that Valentine E. Kasparek was reared. Going through
the -same routine of the average boy reared in the country he attended the
district school near his home, taught by Mr. Hermet. From 1885 to 1886,
Mr. Kasparek worked for Hon. John George Geissel in his political cam-
paign, which was unsuccessful. Four years later, however, Mr. Geissel's
ambitions were realized. Mr. Kasparek later taught school for four months
in district No. 8, and in June, 1886, entered the general store of the Hon.
C. W. Bonck at Royalton, where he remained until 1888. The same year
he went to St. John's College and took a commercial course for a year.
From 1889 to 1890 he kept books for Hill & Putney, who were millers. In
1890 he again worked for Mr. Bonck, remaining with him until 1892, when
he returned to St. John's College and finished his commercial course, grad-
uating with honors.
Mr. Kasparek immediately came to the city of Little h^alls and was the
bookkeeper for C. E. Beal & Company, millers. After remaining with them
until the fall of 1894 he became the candidate for county auditor and was
elected, but, on account of a flaw discovered in his naturalizatir.n |>ai)ers.
he was not permitted to serve in the office to which he had Ijeen elected.
Afterward he went to work for Barney Burton in a dry-goods store, taking
charge of the company's branch store at Bemidji. From 1895 until the
670 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
sale of the store to Snyder Brothers, in 1903. Mr. Kasparek was in the
employ of this firm.
Upon return to Little Falls, Mr. Kasparek traveled to the western
coast for pleasure and also to seek out an opportunity for business. He
traveled far and wide, only to find his search realized in the opportunities
of this city. Here, in 1904, he engaged in the shoe business, later added
clothing and furnishing goods and is still engaged in business of this kind.
In 1906 Valentine E. Kasparek was married to Rose V'asaly, the
daughter of Louis and Frances (Riberi) Vasaly, who were early settlers
of Little Falls and the former was among the early business men of this
city. To Mr. and Mrs. Kasparek have been born two children. Petronilla F.
and Valentine E., Jr.
Mr. Kasparek is one of the progressive young merchants of Little
Falls, interested in every public movement for the betterment of his home
city and county.
REV. PETER J. KROLL.
Among the popular priests of Morrison county, Minnesota, is Rev.
Peter J. Kroll, pastor of Sacred Heart church at Flensburg, where he now
resides, and also pastor of St. Johns church at Swanville and St. Isadore
church at Moran, Minnesota.
Peter J. Kroll is a native of Two Rivers township, having been born
near North Prairie, June 8, 1889. He is the son of Peter, Sr., and Julia
Kroll, residents of Bellevue township, Morrison county Rev. Kroll was
baptized by Monsignor E. J. Nagle on June 10, 1889. He attended the
elementary district school No. 29, in Bellevue township. Morrison county,
and also the school at North Prairie for two years. This latter school was
taught by the Catholic Sisters. Afterward he attended school at Royalton,
Minnesota, for three months, staying with the Rev. J. Belzowski, and while
li\ing there decided to study for the priesthood. Subsequently, he went to
St. b'rancis Seminary at Milwaukee for one term, during 1903 and 1904,
and then attended St. Cyrillus and Methodius College at Detroit, Michigan,
for four years, being graduated from this institution in June, 1908. After-
ward he entered St. Paul Seminary, in September, 1908, studying philo.sophy
and theology for .si.\ years and was to graduate in June, i<)i4, but owing to
the need of a priest was ordained a few months earlier.
Peter J. Kroll was ordained to the holy priesthood at Royalton, Minne-
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 67 1
sota, at Holy Trinity church, on January 27. 1914, by Bishop Thobec. He
celebrated his first mass on January 29, 1914, at the same church and which
was the third mass celebrated in the new church. Afterward, on February
13, 1914, he took charge of the St. Hedwig parish at Holdingford. Minne-
sota, and also had charge of the St. Edwanl missions at Elmdale until
October i, 1914. On that date, Rev. Peter J. KroU was appointed rector
of the Sacred Heart church at Flensburg and also as pastor of the churches
at Swanville and Moran, Minnesota.
JOHN C. PERKINS.
One of the most progressive and ui>-to-date newspapers in Todd count}'.
Minnesota, is the Bertha Herald, of which John C. Perkins is editor and
publisher. Mr. Perkins is a successful newspaper man, who was trained in
the office of his father and brother, and not only is he successful as a news-
paper owner, editor and publisher, but he is likewise prominent as a citizen
and before coming to Todd county served in different positions of trust
and responsibility in the state of Dakota, where he was then living.
John C. Perkins is a native of Newchester township, Adams county,
Wisconsin, where he was born on March 14, 1870. He is the son of Lewis
S. and Martha (McClyman) Perkins, who are now living retired in the state
of South Dakota. They have seven children, Fannie O., Sarah L., Lewis
W., Lucretia R., John C, Charles A. and Roy W.
John C. Perkins was educated in the public schools of Westfield, Wis-
consin, and attended the high school at that ]ilace for a time, although he
was not a graduate. In 1886 he immigrated to the territory of Dakota, now
the state of South Dakota, and worked in the newspaper shop of his father
and brother, Lewis W., which they owned and were then operating. .After
remaining with his father and brother in the print shop until the fall of 1896,
Mr. Perkins became a candidate for clerk of the court of Roberts county.
South Dakota, and was elected to the office. He took charge of the office on
January i. 1897, and two years later was re-elected to a second term, serv-
ing until January i. 1903. .\fterwarfl Air. Perkins engaged in the .-ibstract
business, but six months later was a])pointed by Gov. S. II. l*;irod to the
responsible position of commissioner of insurance of South Dakota. Mr.
Perkins held this jiosition until October, 1906, when he resigned and engaged
in the sreneral real-estate and insurance business at Sisscton, South Dakota.
672 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Until the winter of 1914, Mr. Perkins was engaged in the real-estate busi-
ness at that place, but in 1914 came to Bertha, Minnesota, and purchased the
Bertha Herald, from W. H. Hansen. The Bertha Herald is a live, up-to-
date weekly newspaper and has a very satisfactory circulation in Bertha
and adjoining townships.
John C. Perkins was married on June t8, 1892, to Lillian P. Perkins,
who was born in Fillmore county, Minnesota. She moved with her par-
ents to Dakota when a small child and was educated in the public schools
of South Dakota, making her home with her parents until her marriage.
Mr. and Mrs. Perkins have two children. Clifford R. and J. Basil, both of
whom are graduates of the high school. Clifford R. is also a graduate of
the Mankato Business College, at Mankato, Minnesota.
John C. Perkins is prominent in the Masonic circles of Todd county.
He is a member of the blue lodge No. 131, at Sisseton, South Dakota;
the chapter: the commandery; and Yelduz Temple, Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine, at Aberdeen, South Dakota. In the blue lodge, Mr. Perkins is a
past worshipful master.
WILBER E. HUTCHINSON.
VVilbcr E. Hutchinson, the editor and publisher of the Eagle Bend
Neivs and the proprietor of the Eagle Bend Telephone Company, which
he owns and operates, is a native of AVaterloo, Wisconsin, where he was
born on May 27, 1867.
Mr. Hutchinson is the son of William H. and Betsy Hutchinson, who
were natives of Vermont. The former was a lawyer and school teacher,
who, shortly after his marriage, moved to Wisconsin, practicing law at
Waterloo. He was also admitted to the bars of Iowa, Minnesota and South
Dakota. He died in October, 1913, at the age of eighty-two years, at
Ruskin, blorida. His wife died in 1910, at the age of about seventy-five.
'Jliey were the parents of seven children, Charles 1., of Lamoure, North
Dakota: William, who died at the age of twenty-two; Mrs. V. K. Van
Niman, who died in Minneapolis in 1912; Wilber E., the subject of this
sketch; Mrs. G. W. Crallee, of Ruskin, Florida; Earl, of Spokane, Wash-
ington : and one who died in infancy.
I'jlucated at Limes Springs, Iowa, and at ;\lexandria, Minnesota, where
he attended the high school for three years, Wilber E. Hutchinson began
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 673
teaching at the age of seventeen years. His first school was at Spruce Hill,
Douglas county, Minnesota, and since then he has taught in North Dakota,
South Dakota and in various parts of Minnesota. In all Mr. Hutchinson
has taught fifty terms of school. In 1893, while teaching school in Todd
county, Minnesota, he purchased a printing outfit at Browerville, Minne-
sota, and after moving the outfit to Eagle Bend, established the Todd
County Neivs. A few years later the name of this paper was changed to
the Eagle Bend News. Its circulation originally was about two hundred,
but the paper now has a circulation of about eight hundred. In 1905 Mr.
Hutchinson established the Broivcrville Blade at Browerville, Minnesota,
but after operating this paper for about one year, sold out to Garfield Fields.
Later he established the Bertha Herald at Bertha, Minnesota, but sold this
paper after operating it for a short time.
In the summer of 1907 Wilber E. Hutchinson built a telephone
exchange at Eagle Bend. He now owns the exchange and all of the tele-
phones in the village and has about ninety phones connected with the
exchange. There are about three hundred rural telephones, which are owned
by the farmers and which connect with the exchange. This exchange also
has a connection with the Bell system.
In September, 1886, Wilber Hutchinson was married to Margaret R.
Young, a daughter of Henry T. and Mary A. (Conley) Young, who were
natives of Ireland. Henry T. and Mary A. Young were married in America
and were pioneers in Leslie township, Todd county, Minnesota. Later they
moved to Montana, where he died. Mrs. Young was later married to J. H.
Thompson, who died in 1915. His widow now lives in Montana. Mrs.
Hutchinson received a common-school education in Todd county and, at
one time, was a student under the preceptorship of her husband. She made
her home with her parents until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson
have been the parents of three children, Earl A., Elmer C. and Clyde. Of
these children. Earl A. owns and conducts the telephone exchange at Parker
Prairie, Otter Tail county; Elmer is a professional ball player and is now
playing with the league at Havre, Montana. Clyde died at the age of one
year.
Mr. Hutchinson is identified with the Republican party. He served as
a member of the council for several terms and as village clerk and village
recorder for several terms. Mr. Hutchinson was also postmaster at Eagle
Bend from 1894 until 1906. He is a member of the Moflern Woodmen of
America, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Yeomen.
(43)
6/4 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
FRANK KALIS. ' .
It is always interesting to present the career of a successful and self-
made man. Peculiar honor attaches to the man, who, beginning the great
struggle of life alone and unaided, gradually overcomes difficulty, removes
one by one the obstacles in the pathway of success and, by master strokes,
succeeds in forging his way to the front and winning for himself a com-
petency and a position of influence and esteem among his fellows. Such
is the record of Frank Kalis, a popular farmer of Bellevue township, Mor-
rison county, Minnesota, who has gradually built up a competence in farm-
ing property until he now owns one hundred and ninety-five acres of land.
Mr. Kalis is a native of Germany, born on April 27, 1873. He is the
son of Frank and Anna Kalis, both natives of Germany, who were mar-
ried in their native land. Frank Kalis, Sr., was born in 1837 and when
about thirty-five years old came to America. After landing in New York,
he came direct to St. Cloud, the terminus of the Northern Pacific railroad
at that time. He then drove to Two Rivers township, Morrison county, by
wagon and then on to Elmdale township, where he bought eighty acres of
land. He farmed this land for a time and later added forty acres and still
later forty acres more. His wife, who was born in 1847, was the mother of
nine children, several of whom died young. Those who grew to maturity
were John, Paul, Frank, Mary, Joseph, Anna, and Susie. Mr. and Mrs.
Frank Kalis, Sr., were members of the St. Edward Catholic church at
Elmdale.
Frank Kalis, Jr., was educated in the district school at Elmdale. He
lived at home with his parents and assisted his father on the farm until
twenty-one years old. after which he worked in the saw-mill at Little Falls
for one year. He then returned to the farm and assisted his father for
about six months, when he moved to Bellevue township and purchased
eighty acres of land in section 32. This land was purchased of Donalf
Trattle and a part of it was under cultivation. He broke the rest and
later added forty acres of wild land in section 4, which he also broke and
now farms. Still later he bought eighteen acres adjoining the last tract
and again forty acres from a Mr. Blackwood, adjoining his land on the
north in section 28. In 19 10 he bought fifteen acres in section 26, of Buck-
man township and now owns one hundred and ninety-five acres.
Mr. Kalis is engaged in general farming and stock raising. He makes
a si)ecialty of Hereford cattle and keeps eighteen or twenty head all of the
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 6/5
time. He also has about ten head of Poland China hogs and seven head of
Percheron horses. Mr. and Mrs. Kalis and family live in a splendid brick
house, which is in a good state of repair. The farm is equipped with a
large barn and substantial outbuildings.
On June ii, 1895, Frank Kalis, Jr., was married to Anna Schlichting,
a native of North Prairie township, born on December 8, 1875, the daugh-
ter of George and Susie Schlichting. Mrs. Kalis was educated in North
Prairie township and lived at home with her parents until her marriage.
She has borne her husband nine children, one of whom, Ella, the youngest,
died shortly after birth. The living children are Margaret, Susie, Martha,
George, Allen, Frank, Eleanor and John.
Mr. Kalis votes the Republican ticket. He has held an official position
in school district No. 109 for the past thirteen years and has also been
superintendent of various road work in this township. Mr. and Mrs. Kalis
and family are members of the Holy Trinity church at Royalton. Mr.
Kalis is a member of the Foresters.
JOHN RENNIE.
Not very many men living in Morrison county, Minnesota, have had
a personal history equal in interest and variety as the personal history of
John Rennie, now a well-known appraising engineer, who has lived on a
farm of eighty acres in Little Falls township since 1908, when he joined the
American appraisal service. As a field engineer he has traveled all over
the United States and Mexico, more than one hundred and fifty thousand
miles, and has appraised in that time more than one hundred and sixty
million dollars' worth of property.
The Rennie family history is most interesting, John Rennie's father
having been the publisher of the Oldham (Lancashire County 1 Express and
the correspondent for the London Times during the Franco-Prussian War.
John Rennie was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England, March 16, 1872.
His parents were Andrew and Anna (Bottomley) Rennie, the former of
whom was a native of Aberdeen. Scotland, bom on May 18, 1851, and
there he lived until just before his marriage, which took place at Oldham,
England. As a war correspondent for the London Times, he was in Paris
when that city was taken by the Germans as the culmination of the Franco-
Prussian War. He was a newspaper publisher by profession and was inter-
676 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
ested in a number of English newspapers. His wife is a native of Oldham,
England, born on November 6, 1852. She is still living in England, where
she has spent all her life. Mrs. Anna (Bottomley) Rennie is the daughter
of William Bottomley, an English soldier and a staff surgeon in the Eng-
lish army, who fell at the battle of Inkerman in the Crimean War. The
Bottomley family is a very old family in England and one of very high
social standing. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Rennie had six children, five daugh-
ters and one son, namely : Alice is living with her mother at Oldham, Eng-
land; Isabelle is the wife of David Hardman, who is a master of science at
Coleraine University at Coleraine, Ireland, and has two children ; Jennie is
the wife of James Giles, an accountant of Oldham, England; Nellie, the wife
of Herbert Taylor, a high school instructor, is a resident of Liseard,
Cheshire, England, and has one child; Marie, who on April 18. 1915, came
from London to the United States to live with her brother, was previously
in theatrical work, playing in England, Bavaria and elsewhere.
John Rennie, the eldest child born to his parents, was educated at Old-
ham, Lancashire, England, and was graduated from the Oldham School of
Science and Art in the mechanical architectural construction department.
When sixteen years old Mr. Rennie went to sea as a midshipman in the
merchant marine service, where he remained for seven years. During the
period he was graduated from the Marine College at Sidney, Australia, and
became second officer before he resigned. He also was a member of the
Royal Naval Reserve of Australia for three years, the headquarters of which
are at Sidney, Australia.
While serving on the "George Thompson," hailing from Sidney, Aus-
tralia, to Port Blakeley, Washington, the "George Thompson" came across
the "Ciervan," a Scotch ship which had been disabled in a storm. John
Rennie commanded the crew to man (lie lifeboats which went to the
rescue, saving twenty-eight men and losing only one man who was washed
overboard. Mr. Rennie, himself, on two occasions was stranded and on
one occasion was in a shipwreck.
From Sidney, Australia, to Rotterdam, Holland, Mr. Remiie made the
voyage in the Australian ship "Kosciusko," being second officer. After
this voyage he came to the United States, and after landing at Philadelphia
moved to Aurora, South Dakota. After being there for some time he went
to Minneapolis, where he was employed as a designer for the Diamond Ircui
Works for fourteen months. From the Diamond Iron Works he went to
the Minneapolis Steel and Machinery Company as designer of engines, where
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 677
he remained for eighteen months. From this company he went to the
Filer & Stowell Company, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as a designer of saw-
mills. There he remained ten months until he was employed in the patent
office of the Allis-Chalmers Company, of Milwaukee, as a designer of
improved devices and inventions. After remaining with the Allis-Chalmcrs
Company until 1908, he joined the American appraisal service as a field
engineer, and has been in this service ever since.
In 1896 Mr. Rennie was married to Daisie Lillian Parsons, the daugh-
ter of Oliver and Hanna (Pettijohn) Parsons, natives of the state of Minne-
sota. Mrs. Rennie was born near Lake Washington, Minnesota, but left
her childhood home when five or six years old to accompany her parents
to Aurora, South Dakota. She lived there until her marriage.
Mr. and Mrs. John Rennie have had three children, namely : Hazel,
who is eighteen years old; Andrew, who is sixteen; and Edward, who is
twelve
Mr. and Mrs. Rennie and family are members of the Protestant Meth-
odist church. Mr. Rennie is independent in politics.
PETER O. HOYSTROM.
Peter O. Hoystrom, farmer, of Elmdale township, Morrison county,
Minnesota, is among the progressive agriculturists of his section, for he
employs only twentieth century methods in conducting the work of his farm
and is meeting with a pleasing degree of material success, due to the fore-
sight and labor he has expended in his attempt to attain the goal of his
ambition.
Peter O. Hoystrom is a native of Sweden, born in the northern portion
of that county on April 6, 1858, the third child in the family of five of John
Mattson (born in 1829) and Maria C. Mattson (born in 1822). After the
other members of the family had become citizens of the United States, the
parents also emigrated to this country. John, the father, died in 1896 at the
age of sixty-seven, at the home of the immediate subject of this sketch, and
the mother is still living at the advanced age of ninety-three years, hale and
hearty as one of her years could possibly be. Peter O. Hoystrom was mar-
ried in his native land at the age of thirty, and one year later he left home
and familv and emi.grated to this country. He first touched American soil
at the port of New York and came directly to this county where in Elmdale
678 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES^ MINNESOTA.
township he invested in eighty acres of wild land. Mr. Hoystrom was edu-
cated in the common schools of his native land and after attaining his
growth he worked in the timber lands and also in the stone quarries so
numerous in his part of the country. Upon becoming a citizen of Elmdale
township he immediately set about the task of clearing his land and making
a home so that his family could join him. He first erected a small log
house, and now has practically all his land under cultivation. In 1910 Mr.
Hoystrom purchased an additional tract of eighty acres in Steams county,
which land he is also farming. In addition to raising such crops as are
favored in this section he devotes considerable attention to the raising of live
stock for the market and also for dairy purposes. The season of 1915 finds
him with nineteen head of cattle, twenty-five hogs and he keeps five horses
for doing the work about the farms. However, Mr. Hoystrom does not
need to use his horses for pleasure purposes, for he has an automobile which
quickly covers long distances and permits the faithful beasts of burden to
enjoy the leisure of a rest day. Mr. Hoystrom is one of Elmdale's pro-
gressive citizens and takes an interest in every movement which tends to
advance the interests of the community in any way whatsoever. He is a
stockholder in the Farmers' Co-operative Creamery Company of Upsala and
is also interested in the Elmdale Stock Shippers Association. His religious
membership he holds in the Lutheran church and is one of the faithful
members of his local society. For some time he has served his church as
deacon and is always interested in any task which the church espouses. In
politics Mr. Hoystrom is a Republican and is one of the directors of school
di.strict No. 22.
Mr. Hoystrom before her marriage was Margaret Caroline Schrigrim,
born in Sweden on December 28, 1867, and to her and her husband has been
born a family of eleven children, namely: Robert, Elmer, Linas, August,
Esther, William, Ellen and Andrew. Three children died in early infancy.
Mr. Hoystrom's sons are enterprising young men and operate a threshing-
outfit, a saw-mill and a clover huller. in addition to other active work in
which they are engaged. Mr. Hoystrom's home is comfortable and in good
repair, as are also his outbuildings. In fact, the general api)carance of the
entire farm is complimentary to the ability :md industry of tlie owner. Such
men as the sul)ject of this sketch are among the most valuable citizens of
the commonwealth and are the bone and sinew of the well-being of the
nation. Their industry, honesty and worthy ambitions are productive of
ideal conditions of living, giving the best opportunities for growth and
development along all worthy lines.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 679
THOMAS F. CALLAHAN.
Although not an old man in years, Thomas F. Callahan, a merchant
at Vawter, Bellevue township, Morrison county, Minnesota, has spent his
individuality in no uncertain manner upon the locality where he resides.
He is an excellent representative of the self-made American business man,
who is able to master the details of business and to be content with steady
progress.
Thomas F. Callahan was born on February 22, 1870, in Stearns county,
Minnesota. He is the son of James and Margarette (Hill) Callahan, the
former of whom was born in Ireland in 1834. James Callahan came to
America when a young man and after arriving in this country lived in New
York state for fifteen years. After selling his farm in New York state he
moved to Stearns county, Minnesota, and bought one hundred and sixty
acres from a railroad company. Later he purchased one hundred and sixty
acres and at his death owned three hundred and twenty acres. He died in
1904 at the age of seventy years. His wife was also born in Ireland and
came to America when a young woman. She settled in New York state
and was there married. Margarette (Hill) Callahan bore her husband
eight children, of whom four, Patrick, John, Margarette and James, are
deceased. William, Thomas, Edward and Dennis are living. The Callahan
family are all members of the Catholic church.
Thomas Callahan was educated in the district schools of Stearns county,
Minnesota. He assisted his father in the farm work until twenty-five years
old, when he was married to Anna Deurr, a native of Wright county.
Minnesota, born on December 8, 1878. She is the daughter of Louis and
Sophia (Dick) Deurr, natives of this state. Mrs. Callahan was also edu-
cated in the public schools of Stearns county, and lived with her parents
until her marriage.
After his marriage Mr. Callahan purchased eighty acres of land in
Stearns county, which he farmed for twelve years. At the end of that
period he sold out and moved to Bellevue township, Morrison county, oi>en-
ing a general store at the new town of Vawter, organized on June 19, 1908,
and platted by the Soo railroad. At the time Mr. Callahan came to Vawter
there were only two houses in the locality. Mr. Callahan handles practically
everything in his store and has a large and flourishing trade. He owns
several town lots in Vawter and has been prominent in the locality ever since
coming here.
680 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Callahan have had nine children, all of whom
are living. They are as follow : Alice, Verna, John, Louis, Gregor, Thresa,
Emith, Jerome and Marian.
Mr. and Mrs. Callahan are members of the Catholic church at Royal-
ton. Mr. Callahan is clerk of the school board for school district No. 133,
which he himself organized on July 31, 1910. At the first meeting, August
23, 1910, Mr. Callahan, Rev. J. R. Peterson and Richard Dickson were
elected members of the board.
GEORGE RAGAN.
Prominent among the younger farmers of Little Falls township, Mor-
rison county, Minnesota, George Ragan stands out as a conspicuous figure in
the agricultural life of this section. All of his undertakings have been
actuated by noble motives and high resolves. They have been characterized
by a breath of wisdom which is the admiration of his neighbors and friends.
George Ragan was born in Cleveland, Ohio, October 27, 1873, the son
of John and Emma Ragan, the latter of whom died in 1876, three years
after the birth of her son, George. John Ragan was born in 1830, in
Chatras, England, and when eighteen years old came to America, settling
in Cleveland, where he worked in the steel mills. He followed this occupa-
tion until 1883, when he emigrated to Little Falls. Minnesota, purchasing
eighty acres of land from William Redley. There he made his home and
lived until his death in 1910, at the age of eighty years. He was engaged
in general farming and dairying. John Ragan became an influential citizen
in I-ittle Falls township and was interested in all public movements. His
wife, who was born in England in 1832, had come to .\nierica when a
young woman. Mr. and Mrs. John Ragan had nine children, of whom three
died in infancy. The living children are, Sarah. William, John. Elizabeth,
Mary and George.
George Ragan, the youngest living child in his ])arent"s family, received
his education principally in Morrison county. Minnesota. He attended
school, however, for some time at Cleveland. Coming to Morrison county
with his parents he helped his father on the farm until his marriage, Decem-
ber IQ, 1895. Mr. Ragan's wife before her marriage was Selma Swanson,
who was born in Sweden on January 23, 1877, ^"d who came to .\merica
when four years old with her parents, Charles and Eva (Carlson) Swanson,
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. ' 68l
who settled in Morrison county on a farm east of Little Falls. Both were
born in Wexio, Sweden, and are still living. Mrs. Ragan was educated
in Morrison county. She attended the district schools and lived at home
until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Ragan have had five children, Charlotte,
Guenevive, Narma, Dortha and Dab. The two eldest children are students
of Little Falls high school.
After his marriage Mr. Ragan and his father operated the farm
together until the death of the father, when the farm was left to George.
In 1908 Mr. Ragan purchased eighty acres in Litde Falls township which
he farms in connection with the old homestead. He is a general farmer
but is interested in dairying and in stock raising.
Mr. and Mrs. Ragan are members of the Congregational church at
Little Falls. Mr. Ragan is a Republican and one of the ardent adherents
of the party in Little Falls township.
JAMES P. JOHNSON.
A great philosopher has remarked "The child is father of the man."
which great truth is coming to be more and more appreciated as the years
go by and child training and child development are receiving the attention
never before given them. This truth is applicable to the career of James P.
Johnson, the subject of this short sketch, for the industry and honesty of his
mature vears are but a repetition of the labors of his boyhood. From early
childhood he had taken pleasure in assisting his father in the work of the
homestead and when left fatherless at the age of thirteen years, he was
capable of handling in a most efficient way the unfinished task of his father.
In this wav the widowed mother was able to keep her family together and
give them proper training. Mr. Johnson, therefore, while not an old man
in years, has a goodly number of years of active farming to his credit.
James P. Johnson is a native of Flmdale township, Morrison county,
born on September i, 1875, on the homestead of eighty acres which his
father took up when first coming to this section. The father, Hans P. John-
son, and the mother, Caroline M. ( Rcagelson) Johnson, were both bom in
Denmark, the former in 1839. They emigrated to the United States very
early in their married life (some time in the sixties) and were among the
\-er^' first settlers in Elmdale township. .'Vt that time there were great
unbroken tracts and deer and other large game roamed at pleasure, while
682 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
a great number of Indians still lived as they had before the coming of the
white man. The elder Johnson proved up his homestead and lived thereon
until the time of his death in 1881, when but forty-two years of age. He
letf his wife and four children, two of the number having since died.
James P. was the eldest son and on him fell the burden of the father's work,
which he successfully carried on under the direction of his mother. The
elder Mrs. Johnson still lives at the age of seventy-four years.
James P. Johnson received in his early boyhood such education as the
schools of this pioneer section at that time afforded and made much of the
opportunity at hand. In 1907 he purchased the old homestead of eighty
acres from the other heirs and later added two forty-acre tracts, farming
at the present time his entire holding of one hundred and sixty acres. He
carries on general farming such as practiced in this section and in addition
gives considerable attention to the breeding of full-blood Holstein cattle,
having twenty-four head at the present time. He also raises hogs for the
market, his drove consisting of forty head in the 1915 season. He also
keeps four horses for assisting in the work of the farm, all of which is kept
up in a manner complimentary to the owner.
Aside from the responsibilities of his home Mr. Johnson finds time to
give evidence of an active interest felt in various local enterprises, having
served the Farmers Co-operative Creamery Association of Upsala as secre-
tary for two years. He is also a member of the Elmdale Stock Shippers
Association and is a stockholder in the Farmers Telephone Company. Like-
wise he is both stcjckholder and director of the Farmers State Bank of
Upsala and a director of the Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company.
In politic^ he \otes the Republican ticket, and as representative of that party
he served as clerk of Elmdale township for six years and also clerk of the
school board. Mr. Johnson also owns land in North Dakota, having home-
steaded one hundred and sixty acres near Devils Lake in 1898, and pur-
chased an adjoining tract of like dimensions a short time later.
James P. Johnson's marriage took place in 1902 when on December
22 of that year he was united in wedlock with Hannah Holmgren, a native
of Sweden, born in 1873. She accompanied her family to this country and
witli tlieni located in Elmdale township, wlicre slic has since made her home.
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have a family of four children, James, Ralph, Agnes
and Lillian M., and have planned to give all of them a good education and
train them so that they will take their places in the world as useful men
and women wiun they shall have attained years of maturit)'. Mr. Johnson
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 683
has come into a pleasing degree of material success, but more valuable still
he has so ordered his life as to have won the respect of his fellow citizens
and the confidence and esteem of all who know him.
FRED KEEHR.
Among the large landowners of this section of Morrison county, Fred
Keehr, of Buckmem township, a prosperous young farmer who believes in
making his greatest effort during the morning of life, is entitled to a rank
among the most enterprising.
Fred Keehr was born on May 8, 1874, at Sauk Rapids, Benton county,
Minnesota. He is the son of Jacob and Anna (Trien) Keehr, the former
of whom was born in Germany in 1838, where he lived until after his mar-
riage. In 1 87 1 the family came to the United States, and after a short stop
in New York state came on to St. Paul, where they remained about six
months. There Jacob Keehr did odd jobs, after which he removed to Sauk
Rapids, where he remained two years. He worked on neighboring farms.
At the end of that period, he came to Buckman township and homesteaded
eighty acres of land. He died upon this homestead farm on April 5, 1914,
farming his land until his death. He was a member of the German Lutheran
church, and voted the Democratic ticket. His wife, the mother of Fred
Keehr, was also born in Germany. She came to America with her husband
and family. They had nine children, all of whom are living: Charlie,
Amel, Andrew, Martha (who is the w'de of Peter King), Rudolph. Fred,
Edward, Albert and John.
Fred Keehr was educated in the district schools of Buckman township,
and after completing his education worked in the woods from the time he
was fourteen years old until he was twenty-two years old.
When nineteen years old, Fred Keehr was married to Julia Korth, who
was born on October 29. 1875, in Wisconsin, but who, when still a small
girl, came to Benton county, Minnesota, where she lived until her marriage.
Mr. and Mrs. Keehr have had six children. Bert. Hazel. Delia. Pearl. Jessie
and Edna. Mrs. Julia Keehr died of appendicitis at the age of thirty-five
years in 191 1, and on February 24, 1913. Mr. Keehr was married to Julia
Tolberg, who was born in Minnesota on February 26. 1892, and who is the
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Tolberg.
When Mr. Keehr was twenty-two years old he homesteaded forty acres
684 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
of land in Alberta township, Benton county, and proved up on the land by
living there and cultivating it for six years. In the meantime he bought
one hundred and sixty acres in Buckman township, where he lived after sell-
ing his claim for three years. Upon selling this farm he purchased four
hundred and forty acres of wild prairie, all of which, save seventy-one
acres in meadow, has been put under cultivation. In 1913 Mr. Keehr bought
eighty acres in Hubbard county, Minnesota, principally timber land. He
then bought one hundred and sixty acres of timber land in Cass county in
1914, and in the winter of 1914 bought one hundred and sixty acres of tim-
ber land in Alillelacs county. In March. 1915, Mr. Keehr bought one hun-
dred and sixty acres in Bellevue township, where he is now building and
where he expects to make his home. Altogether, he owns about one thou-
sand acres of land in different parts of the state of Minnesota. He is a
progressive man, a progressive farmer and one who is adding greatly to his
wealth as years come and go. He has fifteen head of horses and about
thirty head of Hereford and Red Polled cattle. He also has about thirtv
head of Poland China hogs.
Mr. Keehr votes the Republican ticket. He was a member of the school
board for more than ten years in various districts and supervisor of Buck-
man township for three years. Mr. and Mrs. Keehr are members of the
Lutheran church.
MARK JAMES GUNDERSON.
Among the prosperous and highly successful merchants of Elmdale
township, Morrison county, Minnesota, is Mark James Gunderson, who was
born at Elmdale, in Elmdale township, Morrison county, Minnesota, Octo-
ber 24, 1889.
Mark James Gunderson is a son of Knute Hans and Caroline (Christen-
sen) Gunderson, the former of whom was born in Yerland, Denmark.
Eebruary 9, 1841, and when about twenty-six years old came to America.
After arriving on the Atlantic seaboard, Knute Hans Gunderson came west
to St. Cloud, where, for a few years, he served as hostler in a livery barn.
He then came to l'~Imdale township, and homesteaded eighty acres of laml.
After receiving his patent, he opened a little store in the basement of his
home and, in 1887, Iw'lt a store near his home. He o])erated this store until
191 2, doing a general mercantile business. At the present time he is living
retired in i^Imdalc. Caroline (Christensen") Gunderson was bcirn in Den-
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 685
mark on October 15, 1850, and she lived to be sixty-three years of age.
She died in May, 19 14. She was married in the old country, but her first
husband died and she came to America and settled in Swan River town-
ship, Morrison county, Minnesota, with her brother, and there she met and
married Knute Hans Gunderson. Of the eight children born to them, three
are living. Knute Hans, Jr., Mark James and Lillie.
Mark James Gunderson was educated in the district schools of Elm-
dale township, Morrison county, Minnesota, and after finishing his school
work he worked for three years on the farm for his father. Afterward he
worked three years in a creamery as a buttermaker, and in 19 12 rented the
store from his father, whicli he operated in partnership with his brother
until 1914, when the father sold out to his sons. In 1913 Mr. Gunderson
built an addition to the store. He is the local agent for the Overland and
Ford automobiles, and has built up a good trade in this part of Morrison
county. Mr. Gunderson has eighty acres of land, the old homestead, and
in addition to the mercantile business is engaged in farming this land. He
is a stockholder in the Clover Leaf Creamery Association at Elmdale, and
is well known in the township.
Mr. Gunderson is independent in politics. He is a member of the
Danish Lutheran church.
KYLE H. BALCOM.
One of the successful newspapers of Todd county, Minnesota, is the
Browennlle Blade, of which Kyle H. Balcom has been the editor and pub-
lisher since 1910. The BrowerviUe Blade is a weekly newspaper and has a
large circulation in this community. Its proprietor is a practical and efficient
printer, who understands thoroughly all of the angles of the newspaper
business.
Kyle H. Balcom was born at Thomson, Illinois, May 15, 1887, and is
the son of Truxton H. and Augusta (Carpenter) Balcom, the former of
whom was born in New York state and who, when about eighteen years
old, immigrated to Illinois with his parents. They settled in Carroll
county, Illinois, from which the late Truxton H. Balcom enlisted in the One
Hundred and Fifty-second Regiment, Illinois X'olunteer Infantry. He
served altogether four years, two years as a drummer boy and two years
in the ranks.
Upon his return from the army Truxton H. Balcom settled down on
686 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
the farm in Carroll county, Illinois, where he lived until his death. He also
operated a grocery store in Thomson for about four years. He died in
June, 1893, at the age of fifty-one years, and at the tmie of his death was a
prominent member of the Masonic lodge of the state. He had risen to the
rank of a thirty-second-degree Scottish I^ite Mason. He was also a member
of the Grand Army of the Republic. Mrs. Augusta Balcom, mother of
Kyle H., was born in New York state in 1848, and came to Illinois with her
parents and settled in Carroll county, where she was married. She lived to
be fifty-two years old, passing away on March 28, 1900. To Mr. and Mrs.
Truxton H. Balcom were born four children, Lloyd, deceased; Geneva, who
married Edward Ullman and lives in Browerville; Earl, who died in infancy;
and Kyle, the subject of this sketch.
Kyle H. Balcom attended the common schools and after completing the
course moved with his mother to Webster, South Dakota, where he was
graduated from the high school. After finishing the high school course
proper he attended the Commercial Business College at Mankato, Minne-
sota In 1905 he returned to Webster and was employed in a printing office
at that place. There he learned the trade of a compositor, remaining three
years. When Mr. Balcom was twenty-one years old he settled at Lemmon,
South Dakota, in Perkins county, where he took a claim of one hundred and
sixty acres. After one and one-half years, he sold out his right to the
claim and moved to Ortonville, Minnesota, where he worked in a printing
office for about one year. In 1910 he came to Browerville and purchased
from C. H. Sherman the Browerville Blade, which he has published ever
since.
In 1914 Mr. Balcom engaged in the motion picture business in Brower-
ville. He has a theater called the "Idle Hour," which he still operates. In
partnership with F. T. Warber, Mr. Balcom has been engaged in the real-
estate business since July, 191 5.
On October 31, 1909, Kyle H. Balcom was married to Lucille Zaback,
who was born at Bigstone City, South Dakota, December 12, 1888. Mrs.
Balcom was educated in the public schools of Bigstone City, where she lived
until her marriage. She is the daughter of .\ugust Zaback, who is a native
of Germany and who settled at Bigstone City upon his arrival in America
from Germany. He lived there until 1913, when the family moved to
l''alsen, North Dakota. Mrs. Balcom is one of .seven children born to her
parents. One child is deceased. The living children are, John; .\nthoneo,
who married Jo.scph Meming and lives in Fo.\hole, North Dakota; Martin;
Edward; Lucille, the wife of Mr. Balcom; and Leo.
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 68/
Mr. and Mrs. Kyle H. Balcom have one child, Kiniiin, who was born
on August 3, 1913.
The Browerville Blade is independent in poHtics. Mr. Balcom has
been prominent in the political and civic life of Todd county and, as the
publisher of the leading newspaper of liis community, enjoys a well-deserved
prestige as a citizen and business man. Since coming to Browerville five
years ago Mr. Balcom has made a host of friends, not only for himself but
for the newspaper of which he is proprietor.
CHARLES STENH0LA1.
Charles Stenholm, acknowledged to be one of the most up-to-date farm-
ers of Elmdale township, Morrison county, Mimiesota, is a native of Sweden,
born on July 3, 1862, son of Magnus Peterson and Martha, his wife. Both
of Mr. Stenholm's parents passed their entire lives in Sweden and were of
the farming class. The father owned a goodly farm and was a rather
extensive breeder of live stock.
Charles Stenholm is the youngest of a family of five children, the
others being Augustine, Peter, Solomon and Louise M. Charles attended
the public schools near his home when a boy, and after completing his studies
helped his father for two years. In search of the greater o])portunities
which he believed America offered he emigrated to this country in 1882 and
traveled directly to Detroit, Michigan, going to Stillwater from that point.
He attended school in Lindstrom, Minnesota, for one term to better acquaint
himself with the English language and .American mannerisms and then went
to Minneapolis where for two summers he was employed in a brickyard.
He spent one year in the timber at Moose Lake and for the four following
vears he was a bartender at White Bear Lake.
In the fall of 1888 Mr. Stenholm came to Morrison county and bought
fort)'-four acres of wild land. There were no roads in his vicinity, neither
were there houses. He laid out a roadway the first year he had possession
of his land and bent every energy to getting his land cleared and under
cultivation. A few years later he bought forty-eight acres adjoining him
on the south, his farm now being about half tmder cultivation. In addition
to general farming he raises some live stock, having in the 191 5 season
about twenty-two head of cattle, also horses and pigs, finding in live stock
a most lucrative phase of farming.
688 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Charles Stenholm was married on June 24, 1890, to Caroline Peterson,
born in Sweden on February 22, 1863. She came to this country all alone
about the year 1888 and settled at White Bear Lake, where she met and mar-
ried Mr. Stenholm. To their union have been born three daughters : Anna
M., Hilda M. (Mrs. Harry Beckstrom) and Ellen S. The family is regarded
as one of the best of the community and have a pleasing number of warm
personal friends. Mr. Stenholm's farm is known as "Cedar Lake Farm"
and the manner in which it is kept up and its business conducted is a fitting
testimony to the ability of the owner. There is a fine residence, a large
barn and other suitable buildings and about the whole place there is an air
of prosi>erity and system that is pleasing to even the casual observer. Mr.
Steinholm is a stockholder in the Farmers Co-operative Creamery Company
and also a member of the Farmers Fire Insurance Company, both local
organizations, which illustrate to what extent the farming class fosters the
commercial and protective spirit in their own community. Mr. Stenholm
gives his political support to the Republican party and holds his church
membership with the Lutherans.
PETER NYLEN.
Among the honorable and influential citizens of Darling township, Mor-
ri.son comity, Minnesota, is Peter Nylen, the subject of this review, who has
maintained his home here for many years, winning definite success in agri-
cultural work, to which he has devoted his attention during the years of an
active business life, and he has ever commanded the confidence and esteem
of his fellow men.
Peter Nylen was born on September 14, i860, in the lantl of Norway,
son of Michael H. and Ingni (Engelbreston) Nylen. He was one of a
family of twelve children, but six of whom are living at the present time.
Michael Nylen. father of the immediate subject of this sketch, passed his
entire life in his native land. He was born in 1808 and during all the active
years of his life was engaged in fanning. His death occurred in i86().
His wife, who was born on January 8. 18 18. survived him a number of
vears, her death occurring in IQ08.
Peter Nylen received his education in his native land and remained on
the farm with his father until 1880, at which time he left his home and emi-
grated to this countrv. He traveled directly to Minneapolis, where he had
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 689
friends, and secured work with a section gang on a railroad. He remained
in that position about six months, but not finding it to his liking he turned to
farm work as the thing in which he was best versed. He first hired out to
a farmer in Otter Tail county and in 1883 secured possession of a tract
of land in Towner county, which he rented until about 1890, when he first
came to Morrison county. He purchased one hundred and sixty acres of
land in section 26, of Darling township, on which there was a small shanty
but no ground whatever had been broken. He immediately erected a sub-
stantial log house, size fourteen by eighteen feet, in which he lived until
1899, when he built his present two-story residence of nine rooms. He
has also erected a good substantial barn and other outbuildings and has fifty-
five acres of land uijder cultivation, sixteen acres being in corn. In addi-
tion to regular farming, Mr. Nylen pays considerable attention to raising
live stock. He keeps nothing but graded stock and disposes of a number
of head each year to the market.
Peter Nylen was married in 1890 to Barbara Thomson, born on March
4, 1862, in Norway. .She left her native land in 1885 and located at Dwight,
North Dakota. To this union have been born four children. The eldest is
Martin, born in 1891 and residing in Darling township; Inga was born in
1893 and lives in Minneapolis, where she is employed as a stenographer;
Olga, born in 1895, lives in Ellsworth, this state, and Clara, born in 1897,
is still at home with the parents. She is receiving an excellent education, is
a graduate of the Little Falls schools and has fitted herself for a teacher in
the Morrison county schools, being naturally well suited to such work.
Mr. Nylen is a faithful member of the Lutheran church, to the support
of which he gives generously of his means. His fraternal affiliation is held
with the Modern Woodmen of America, and in politics he votes indepen-
dently. While giving the best of his effort toward furthering his own inter-
ests he is not unmindful of his duties as a citizen and has been most conscien-
tious in the discharge of public duties thrust upon him. He has served
Darling township as road supervisor and has at different times been a director
and treasurer of school district No. 74, of his township. Mr. Nylen is a
man of splendid influence in his community. He has always been a very
industrious man who has led an honorable career, setting a worthy example
to the younger generation of the community and giving his own children
a splendid training. He is regarded as a public-spirited man and can always
be counted on to support the right side of any movement involving the moral,
educational or social welfare of his fellow citizens.
(44)
690 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
BERNARD NYGAARD.
The winning of success through individual effort is one of the oppor-
tunities in American industrial life and those men who, no matter how
humble the beginning, are able to reach prosperity, deserve more than ordin-
ary recognition in the community in which they live. Such a man is Bernard
Nygaard, agent for the Northern Pacific railroad. A descendant of an old
Norwegian family, Mr. Nygaard has inherited those sterling traits of char-
acter for which the people of that country are noted. His career has been
marked by unusual achievement and has been guided by the highest principles
of integrity and honor.
The native home of Bernard Nygaard is Minneapolis, where he was
born on June 19, 1887. He is the son of Ole and Engeborg (Oinej Nygaard,
natives of Norway. Bernard Nygaard is the eldest of the following chil-
dren: Rudolph, who is employed as relief agent at Gushing; Elmer, who is
a farmer ; and Ragna, who is deceased. Ole Nygaard was born on February
27, 1859, in Norway. He left his native land when he was twenty-two
years of age and came to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he worked as a
stone mason until 1895. An industrious citizen and one who applied him-
self diligently to all tasks, Mr. Nygaard, soon began to get a foothold in
the community in which he settled. After leaving Minneapolis he went to
Gushing township, in Morrison county, where he bought two hundred and
forty acres of land in section 35. The land was covered with timlx-r and
the task of removing the thick growth of vegetation was not an easy one.
During the time he has lived there Mr. Nygaard has broken up seventy-five
acres of the land and is now farming on the same tract. His wife was also
born in Norway, the date of her birth being February 22, 1859. She and
her husband were married in their native land before coming to this country.
Bernard Nygaard was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm and
attended the public schools of Minneapolis. He received aside from his
elementary education many advantages of schooling. He attended the busi-
ness college of Little Falls, where he took bookkeeping and banking. He
also attended the Grand Forks Gollege for nine moiUhs where he took a
general course. -Vt the age of nineteen years he started railroading at Lin-
coln, Minnesota, where he was employed by the Northern Pacific. Six
months later he went t(i Belt TJne Junction where he remained a short time.
In 1908 he went to Gushing, Minnesota, and was made general agent of that
place, ilis (KJsition has brought him in contact witli all classes of people
s
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 69I
and his broad sympathy and deep understanding of pubHc wants have won
for hun much popularity. Aside from his active business, Mr. iNygaard
also takes a keen interest in agricultural attairs. He is a shareholder in the
Gushing Creamery Company, and in educational affairs occupied a position
on the school board ot Cushing township. His residence in Cushing is
attractive and the grounds surrounding the dwelling extend over two lots.
in 1910 Bernard JMygaard was married to Jennie Swanson, a native of
Little flails, Minnesota, and the daughter of Charles and Eva Swanson.
Mr. and Mrs. Swanson are natives of Sweden and left their native country
in 1875, when they located in Wisconsin. For some time Mr. Swanson
was engaged in railroad work there until he came to Little Falls over thirty
years ago. He is now farming about five miles east of Little Falls. He
and his wife reared a family of seven children.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Nygaard are: Evelyn, who was
born on November i6, 191 1, and Byron, who was born on March 11, 1915.
Both of the children were born at Cushing. Mr. Nygaard is a loyal mem-
ber of the Norwegian Lutheran church. In his political relations he is a
member of the Republican party and is enthusiastic for its principles. So
far he has never affiliated himself with lodges.
JOHN H. HUSMANN.
The German citizens in this country have played an important part in
social, industrial and commercial affairs. They have brought with them the
ideas of thrift and thoroughness and used them for the building of firm
foundations for community life. Their inherent traits of character have
by their very force brought the possessor to heights of public esteem and
confidence. x\mong the German pioneer families of Morrison county,
Minnesota, perhaps none is better known and respected than the family of
John H. Husmann. The name stands for business honesty and successful
attainments.
John H. Husmann was born in Hanover, Germany, on June 13, 1857.
He is the son of Henry and Ella (Hesenions) Husmann, both natives of
the same country. Of the eleven children born to the union five of the
boys are still living. Henry Husmann, the father, was born on February
II, 1809, and died in this country in 1877. In Germany he was engaged
in the flour-milling business, but sought to change his occupation by coming
692 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES^ MINNESOTA.
to America. He settled at Warnesburg, Illinois, where he worked until
1874, when he retired. His wife, who was born on January 9, 191 1, died
in 1899. They were both prominent members of the German Lutheran
church.
In the schools of Germany John H. Husmann received his elementary
education and came to America when still a young man. When he arrived
in this country he found employment as section foreman on a railroad in
Warnesburg, Illinois. Five years later he chose the occupation of farming
and rented a farm for three years in Platte county, Nebraska. During his
three years of farming in Nebraska, he developed the attributes of reliability
and force which were of great value to him later in planning the farm where
he now makes his home. The carpenter's trade appealed to Mr. Husmann
for a while as a means by which he could obtain broader experience, and as
a consequence he moved to Clinton, Iowa, where he worked as a carpenter
for four years. Upon hearing of an opening in Springfield. Minnesota, he
left Iowa, and engaged in the contracting business. In 1902 he bought one
hundred and sixty acres of land in Morrison county, Minnesota, located in
section 17, of Clough township. Previous to his permanent settlement on
this farm, Mr. Husmann farmed on a tract of rented land in Brown county,
Minnesota, for three years.
The farm in Morrison county was in a rugged and rustic state when
the present owner first took charge of it. Timber was to be found every-
where, so that the first four years of Mr. Husmann's work there were taken
up with getting out cordwood and cutting ties. There were no wagon roads
at this time and as a result great difficulty was experienced by those who
desired to make profit by selling the wood. Aside from this hardship,
lumber was not in demand, and the returns recei\ed for cut wood were
very small. Mr. Husmann, in reviewing the hardships of those days, often
recalls the experience of hauling the wood a distance of seven miles to
Randall, the nearest market, where he received just barely enough money
to buy food for his family. When he first took up his residence in the
community where he now plays so prominent a part, the subject of this
sketch had just six cows, two head of horses and thirty-six dollars in cash,
the land he was able to purchase at that time for only three dollars and one-
half an acre has yielded many times that amount until the owner has come
to look upon it as a permanent place of contentment. Of the one hundred
and sixty acres he has cleared over eighty and has twenty-five acres under
cultivation. He built the hou.se of logs and also erected a large bam. He
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 693
has graded stock of Holstein cattle and is one of the shareholders in the
creamery at Randall.
In 1884, John H. Hnsmann married Caroline Keinetz, a native of
Germany, who was born on October 17, 1865, and died on January 9, 1895.
The following children were born to this union : Herman, Ida and George,
who are deceased; Mrs. Martha Jaeger, who makes her home with her
father; Mrs. Anna Wadsworth, who lives in Brainerd, Minnesota, and
Henry and Carrie, who are deceased. Mr. Husmann was married, secondly,
in 1896, to Augusta Steinke, also a native of Germany. She was born on
February 14, i860, and died December 31, 1913. Her youngest child died
in infancy and her son, Henry, is also dead; Mary, the eldest child, is now
living in Brainerd, and John, Jr., lives on the farm with his father.
Mr. Husmann is an independent voter and is a member of no fraternal
organizations. He follows the doctrines of the Baptist church. An interest-
ing fact to be noted in the life of Mr. Husmann is his broad view of affairs
outside the farm, his varied interests and occupations and his remarkable
versatil'; character. Aside from other duties he has held the office of town-
ship supervisor.
WILLIAM N. MOREY.
Eleven miles from Staples and five luiles southeast of Motley is situated
"Oakdale Farm," of which William N. Morey and son are proprietors. This
is one of the most desirable tracts of land to be found in all Morrison
county, and it may be said with equal truth that there are no better farmers
in the county than Mr. Morey and his son. "Oakdale Farm" comprises five
hundred acres of fertile land, of which two hundred and forty acres are
cleared and under cuffivation. The crop for 191 5 included sixty acres of
corn, twelve acres of oats and two acres of alfalfa. In 1908 the construc-
tion of barns and sheds was begun, and the farm is now equip!>ed with a
silo and stock and hay barn, forty by fifty feet. The yard of "Oakdale
Farm" comprises four acres and is covered with tall cedar trees.
William N. Morey, the senior member of the firm of William N. Morey
& Son, is a native of Kane county, Illinois, where he was born on October
20, 1865. He is the son of John and .Ann R. (McConnell) Morey, the
former of whom was a native of Oswego, New York, and was born in 1836.
and the latter was born in 1839 in Yates county. New York. The Moreys
are of German descent. John Morey was a farmer by occupation. He was
694 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
taken to Illinois when two years of age by his parents, who drove an ox
team from New York state to Illinois. There he entered land from the
government and lived until 1887, when he passed away. Mrs. Ann R.
(McConnell) Morey was a well-to-do and well-informed woman and a skill-
ful handworker. She died in 1880, leaving two children, of whom William
N. was the eldest. George, the second born, died in 1889.
William N. Morey was educated in the common schools of Illinois.
He remained at home with his parents until 1887, when he removed to
Hardin county, Iowa, and purchased two hundred and forty acres of land
which his father had owned. He made extensive improvements on this farm
and operated it for three years, when he sold out and removed to Iowa Falls,
where he farmed until 1809, when he removed to Morrison county, Minne-
sota, and purchased two hundred and forty acres of unimproved land in
.sections 21 and 22, of Motley township. After removing to Morrison
county, Mr. Morey cleared away the timber and brush, very shortly remod-
eling the house and barn. He is an extensive stock breeder and makes a
specialty of Shorthorn cattle. He owns a fine bull that has won many prizes,
and also keeps a high grade of horses and purebred Duroc- Jersey hogs.
Mr. Morey and his son, Alvah, who is associated with him in business, are
among the very largest farmers in Morrison county.
In 1884 William N. Morey was married to Laura Andrews, a native of
Kane county, Illinois, who was born on April 17, 1868. Mr. and Mrs.
Morey were reared within six miles of each other and attended the same
school. Mrs. Morey is the daughter of Edward and Vandalia ( Beebee)
Andrews, who were natives of New York state. Mrs. Moray's father is
still living but her mother is deceased.
The only child born to Mr. and Mrs. William N. Morey, Alvah Morey,
was born on April 12, 1885, '" Kane coimty, Illinois, and was married to
Mabel Hopkins, of Iowa Falls, Iowa. Alvah Morey is a graduate of Drake
College and later pursued a course of dentistry for two years, but after fol-
lowing his profession three years gave it up on account of failing health.
Hi is a .scientific farmer and much of the success of the operation of "Oak-
dale I'^arm" is due to his own personal management. Alvah Morey under-
stands thoroughly all of the modern tendencies and all the modern methods
and uses them on "Oakdale I-'arm." By his marriage to Mabel Hopkins there
has been born one son, Edward, who was lx)rn in 1909, in Morrison county,
Minnesota.
William N. Morey is a Republican in iinlitics, a member of the Society
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIKS, MINNESOTA. 695
of Friends, Modern Woodmen of America and the Yeomen. He has made
a remarkable success in agriculture and his success has had a profound
influence upon the methods pursued by his neighbors. The Morey family is
popular in Motley township, and is well known throughout Morrison county.
JOHN C. WALLER.
Numbered among those whose intluence has been potent in connection
with the agricultural development of Morrison county, Minnesota, is John
C. Waller, who is a prominent tigure in this section of the West. His career
has been remarkable on account of the various pursuits in which he has been
occupied and his successful handling of situations widely differentiated in
character. A progressive spirit and deep civic loyalty have characterized
his entire dealings, and he has proved to be a substantial, discriminating
and valued member of society. Regarded as an authority on mral affairs,
his knowledge has won for him a number of offices of public conhdence,
where he has proved his ability in various ways.
John C. Waller was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on August 13, 1872.
He is the son of Henry Waller, a native of Germany, and Margaret
(McFarland) Waller, a native of the state of New York and a descendant
of an old Scotch family. John Waller lost his parents when he was extremely
young in years, his father having been killed by a horse when the subject of
this sketch was only three years old. After the death of her husband,
Mrs. Waller lived just three years. Her death necessitated the making of
a new home for her small son, and he was taken by the Trilby family, of
Iowa, to be reared.
With the advantages offered in education to the children of these days,
it is a notable fact that many of the most prominent citizens of today
received only tlie scantiest opportunities for schooling when they were young
and yet were able to cope with the large problems of life, intelligently and
successfully. The schooling received by John Waller covered a period of
only a few months. His start in life began when he was only thirteen years
of age, when he began to give service as a waiter on the Northern Pacific
railroad. His employment with the railroad company covered a period of
three vears. At the end of that time he worked as a teamster in the timber
lands of Minnesota. For a time Mr. Waller worked at hauling logs with a
team of oxen, and later continued to work for the timl)er interests on the
696 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Mississippi, "driving" logs from Brainerd to Minneapolis. In 1912 he began
to farm on land which he had bought in 190 1, in section 10, Cloiigh town-
ship, Morrison county, Minnesota. The present farm extends over a tract
of eighty acres, fifty acres of which are in cultivation. Mr. Waller has
spent much on modern improvements on the farm. The farm residence is a
two-story house of eight rooms and the stock bam is built twenty-four by
forty feet. The cattle are of a graded stock of Holstein.
In 191 2 John C. Waller was united in marriage to Mary Mudge, who
was born on March 15, 1894, in Millbank, North Dakota. She is the daugh-
ter of Leonard and Larcena (Garson) Mudge. now residing in Little Falls,
Minnesota. Her father was born in Michigan and her mother is a native
of Denmark.
In his political relations, Mr. Waller is a Republican, and has always
been a pojiular member of that body. He held the office of constable for a
few years and was also road supervisor for some time. He has always
exemplified a deep Christian faith in all his undertakings and gives his relig-
ious support to the Baptist church.
AUGUST LOEGERING.
Among the most prosperous farmers and popular citizens of Todd
county, Minnesota, is August Loegering, who owns a splendid farm of one
hundred and sixty-one acres southeast of Long Prairie. He was born in
what was then the territory of Minnesota, in Waconia township, Carver
county, August 28, 1857, and is the son of Herman and Anna Mary (Wueb-
ben) Loegering, l)oth of whom were natives of Westphalia, Germany.
Mr. Loegering's father came to America and settled at Cincinnati,
Ohio, when he was nineteen years old. His mother came to this country
when still a girl. They were married in Cincinnati in 1854, and after living
there until r856 inmiigrated to Carver county, Minnesota, and .settled on a
farm, living on this farm until the mother's death, in 1870. Herman Loeg-
ering had enlisted in a Minnesota regiment and had served one month as a
Union soldier in the Civil War. In 1898 Herman Loegering returned to
Germany on a \isit and died there in the same year. They were the parents
of eight children, four of whom died in infancy. Three are now living.
Margaret died at the age of nineteen. The three living children are August,
the subject of this sketch, Catherine and Frank. Catherine is the widow of
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 697
Frank Gehlen and lives at Glencoe, Minnesota. Frank is a resident of Long
Prairie townsiiip.
After the death of his first wife, Herman Loegering was married, sec-
ondly, to Catherine Henke, who was a native of Germany. They were
married in 1873, and to them were born six children, two of whom died in
infancy. The four living children are Clemens, of Aitkin county, Minne-
sota; Godfrey, of .\itkin county, Minnesota; Conrad, also of ^Mtkin county;
and William, of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Herman Loegering's second wife
died in 1898.
August Loegering was educated principally in the public schools of
Carver county, Minnesota, and for seven years taught school in Carver
county. Afterward he worked in a store as a clerk for one year and then
purchased a store, which he operated for four years. After Mr. Loegering
had sold this store he moved to Todd county, Minnesota, in 1889, and settled
on a farm which he had bought in 1880. After living on the farm for
seven years he sold out and purchased one hundred and sixty-one acres south-
east of the corporation of Long Prairie, where he now lives. Mr. Loeger-
ing has made substantial improvements upon this farm and has erected a
splendid house and barn. Of the farm, sixty-five acres have been cleared.
There is one of the finest orchards on the Loegering farm to be found any-
where in Todd county.
On May 27, 1884, August Loegering was married to Josephine Otto,
daughter of William and Julia Ann (Gill) Otto. Mrs. Loegering's parents
were both natives of Germany. They settled at Winsted, Minnesota, in
1862, and lived upon this farm until their deaths. Mr. Loegering's father
passed away on December 8, 1878, and her mother on November 12, 1914,
To Mr. and Mrs. August Loegering have been born thirteen children,
as follow: One who died in infancy; A. J., a farmer of Long Prairie town-
ship; Margaret, who became a Sister and was known as Sister Hortense,
died at the age of twenty-six at St. Joseph, Minnesota; Balbina, who lives
at Great Falls. Montana; Appalonia. who is at home; Mary, who died at the
age of seventeen; Anthony, who was drowned at the age of fifteen; Madard
and Thikla, twins, who live at home: Augustine. Frederick and Qurine, all
of whom are at home; and Julia, who is assistant cashier of the People's
National Bank of Long Prairie.
Mr. Loegering is president of the Farmers Live Stock Shipping Asso-
ciation and has served in this office for the last two years. Having helped
to organize the Todd County Creamery Company, he became its secretarj-
(45)
698 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
and served in this capacity for four years. For two years Mr. Loegering
was president of the Farmers Insurance Company. The Farmers Live Stock
Shipping Association of Todd county was organized with the assistance of
Mr. Loegering.
August Loegering is a member of the Long Prairie Lodge, Knights of
Columbus. The Loegering family are all members of the Catholic church
at Long Prairie, and Mr. Loegering is a member of St. John's Society. In
politics, Mr. Loegering is identilied with the Democratic party. He served
as supervisor of his township in Todd county for six years. At the present
time he is serving as justice of the peace and has served in this capacity
altogether for a period of seven years. It is apparent from these facts that
August Loegering has fully discharged his obligations as a citizen of this
county. He has filled many positions of trust and responsibility and the
frequency with which he has been called upon for public service is a testi-
mony, not only of his conscientious consideration of duty, but of his efii-
ciency in performing public work.
GUST FRANZEN.
Gust I'ranzen, a prosperous farmer of Rosing township, Morrison
county, Minnesota, and a successful business man, is a native of Sweden,
where he was born on March 23, 1861. Mr. Franzen is the son of Franz
and Mary (Bergland) Franzen, the former of whom was born in 1831. and
died in his native land in 19 15. He was a farmer by occupation. The
latter was born in 1828, and died about 1900. They had four children, of
whom Gust was the eldest. Alvin is deceased ; Ida Leeberg and August
still live in Sweden.
Gust Franzen was reared on a farm and educated in the Swedish
public schools. He left his native land in 1883, at the age of twenty-two
years, and after arriving in America settled in Motley, where he worked
in the lumber yard and saw-mill owned by the Gull River Milling Company.
In 1886 he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land and was able
to clear seven acres of the land the first year, using oxen in the process.
Mr. Franzen now owns four hundred acres of land, of which fifty acres are
under cultivation. He is a shareholder in the Pillager Creamery Company.
Three years after arriving in America, Gust Franzen was married to
Amanda Carlson, a native of Sweden, who was born in 1862 and who left
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. $99
her native land in 1886, the year of her marriage. Mrs. Franzen's parents
are both deceased. She has borne her husband ten children, of whom
Joseph, the youngest, and an infant, the first born, are deceased. The living
children are as follow : Mrs. Ida C. Johnson, of Pillager, Cass county,
Minnesota; Mrs Ellen Temple, of Brainerd, Minnesota; Adolph, Arthur,
Mabel, David, Ruth and Paul, who live at home with their parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Gust Franzen are members of the Swedish Lutheran
church. Mr. Franzen is an ardent Repul^lican and is the clerk of Rosing
township. lie is also clerk of the school corporation.
HERBERT L. WALDRON.
Following is a short sketch of the career of Herbert L. Waldron, one
of the leading business men of Staples, Todd county, Minnesota. Mr.
Waldrori came to Staples in its earliest days, being a watchmaker by trade,
and seeing the possibilities in the growing town, he located and set himself
up as a jeweler. By prompt and careful attention to business and unvarying
integrity in all his dealings, his business has grown until he today is pro-
prietor of one of the most complete and up-to-date jewelry and stationery
stores in any city of the Northwest comparing to Staples in size.
Herbert L. Waldron is a native of the state of New York. lx»rn in
Norwood on February 22, 1868, son of William and Cynthia (Center)
Waldron, being -the youngest of their family of three children. Minnie, the
eldest of the family, is deceased, and William is located in Minneapolis.
William Waldron, father of the immediate subject of this sketch, was born
at LaSchutte, Canada, about the year 1839, and when a young man he was
apprenticed to the carpenter's trade. He succeeded well in his chosen field
and became a contracting carpenter. In 1862 he left his native town and
came into the states, locating at Norwood, New York, where he lived for
twenty years, following his chosen vocation. From Norwood he moved to
St. Cloud, Minnesota, still working at his trade, and in 1892 he took up his
work in the city of Minneapolis, continuing there for the balance of his
days. His death occurred in 1901. Both parents were faithful members
of the Methodist Episcopal church, continuing therein until the time of
their deaths.
Herbert L. Waldron. when a boy, attended the public schools of his
native town of Norwood and was fourteen years of age when his parents
700 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES^ MINNESOTA.
came west. While still a youth he went into one of the best jewelry shops
of St. Cloud to learn the trade of watchmaker, and when he had mastered
its intricacies he went to Minneapolis and secured employment. In 1892
he left Minneapolis and went to Grand Forks, where he remained for the
following three years and from there he came to Staples, at a time when
the town was nothing more than a straggling village. To quote his own
words: "In June of 1895 I came to Staples, thinking I might be here for a
month or so, but seeing it was a good location for a watchmaker, I stuck.
There were then two other jewelers in the town, one in Ritter's drug store
and one where A. Mark is now located." Mr. Waldron, in humorous vein,
goes on to tell how his first location was a window rented in the tailor shop
of one Schultz and how he got S. A. Rosbrook to make him a work bench
which took almost every cent he possessed. And then, in order to appear
busy, he almost ruined his own watch taking it apart, pretending to clean it,
and putting it together again. The ruse worked, and work began to come in
so that within a short time the other two jewelers left for more profitable
fields and Mr. Waldron had the town to himself.
Mr. Waldron has taken a keen interest in the life of Staples since first
coming here and has so arranged his own business that he not only has kept
abreast of the rapid advancement of the community life, but has been in the
front rank of its commercial interests. He has given much of his time to
Staples' civic affairs, for after his first year here he was elected village
recorder, which office he filled for two years. The following year he
served as town clerk, and was then again made recorder and, for the follow-
ing nine years he most efficiently discharged the duties of that office. From
the first his workmanship was recognized as of a high order and three years
after locating in Staples he was appointed watch in.spector for the Northern
Pacific railroad, which position he has since most ably filled. He soon out-
grew the window in the tailor shop and secured space in Atwod's drug store
and shortly before the big fire at Staples, moved to the comer where W. T.
Flynn then had the postoffice. W^hen R. Arundel was appointed postmaster
in igoo he ioined with Mr. Waldron in occupying the building where the
latter has since remained. After renting this building for one year Mr.
Waldron purchased it from J. D. Marlin, and since that time, as his business
has justified, he has added stock and fixtures until he now has one of the
most thriving businesses of the town.
In January of 1898 Herbert I.. Waldron was united in marriage with
Lottie Bartraw. born in July, 1878, at Charles City, Iowa. She is a daugh-
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 7OI
ter of William and Jennie (LaLone) Bartravv, both natives of Canada.
William spent his early days on a farm, and upon coming to this section of
the country he homesteaded a tract of land, which is now the site of the
town of Staples. Mr. Bartraw has retired from the active affairs of life
and he and his good wife are spending their declining years near their
daughter in Staples. To Mr. and Mrs. Waldron have been born two chil-
dren, Lyndall being a student at St. Benedict College, St. Joe, this state, and
Lorraine, still in high school work in Staples. Both chiklren are bright and
promising, and the little family moves in the best social circles of the com-
munity.
Mr. Waldron is not a member of any church society, but is an attendant
upon divine worship. Mrs. Waldron is a communicant of the Roman
Catholic church. Mr. Waldron gives his political support to the Republican
party, and is at present representing his party as a member of the school
board of Staples. He holds fraternal affiliation with the Knights of Pythias,
the Modern Woodmen of America and the Royal Arcanum. Mr. Waldron
is a fine tvpe of young American manhood and stands as an example of
what persistency and correct moral principles may accomplish in the life of
anv man. He has not only done well along material lines, but of far more
value still is the pleasing degree of regard in which he is held by his fellow
townsmen.
PERRY KNAPP.
One of the most successful farmers of Todd county, Rlinnesota, and
one (jf its liest-known citizens is Perry Knapp, who owns a niagnilicent farm
of two hundred and twenty-six acres adjoining the city of Long Prairie, and
who is also the proprietor of the West hotel and livery liarn, of Long
Prairie. He has been very successful in business and is today one of the
most highly-respected men and citizens of the county.
Perry Knapp is a native of Grant county, Wisconsin, born in South
Lancaster township, September 2, 1868. lie is the son of Anton and Eddie
(Roberts) Knapp. Mr. Knapp's father was born in Germany, Octol)er 5,
1840, and immigrated with his parents when a lad of two years to Grant
county, Wisconsin. His mother was a native of Indiana, who removed with
her parents to Grant county, Wisconsin, in pioneer times. It was in Grant
county that Mr. Knapp's parents were married. They are still living in
Grant county, in the city of Lancaster, and on December 31, 1915, will
702 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. Mr. Knapp's father served in
the Civil War for more than three years in Company H, Twenty-fifth Regi-
ment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. He was with Sherman on his memor-
able march to the sea and received an honorable discharge at the close of
the war.
To Anton and Eddie (Rolserts) Knapp were born five children, all of
whom are living; Alice, the wife of Fred Miles, of Kansas; Perry, the
subject of this sketch; Nettie M., the wife of John Pringle, of Grant county,
Wisconsin; Clay W., who lives in Grant county; and Parke A., w^ho is also
a resident of Grant county.
Perry Knapp received a good education in the district schools of Grant
county, Wisconsin, and after finishing his education, worked on his father's
farm until twenty-five years old, when he was married. After his marriage
he worked on his father's farm for four years and then purchased a farm
of one hundred and eighty acres in Grant county, Wisconsin, which he
cultivated for eight years. Upon selling the farm he mo\ed to Lancaster,
and for a number of years dealt in South Dakota land. Subsequently he
moved to Pierre, South Dakota, where he lived for two years. In 191 1 he
.sold out his interests in South Dakota and moved to Long Prairie, Minne-
sota, purchasing one hundred and ninety-two acres of land adjoining the
corporation of Long Prairie. This farm is well improved and has, besides
a good barn, a modern brick house. Since purchasing the farm Mr. Knapp
has increased the acreage to two hundred ami twenty-six acres. He has also
purchased the West hotel and livery barn and is the proprietor of lx)th
enterprises. Among other things. Perry Knapp is a stockholder in the
"Airline" railroad.
On August 23, 1893, Perry Knapj) was married to Anna Klinkhammer,
a daughter of F. W. and Mary (.Ahrendes) Klinkhammer. Mrs. Knapp's
father was born in Germany and at the age of twenty-five years came to
.America and settled in Grant cotmty, Wisconsin. On his way to .\merica
the ship was wrecked and out of four hundred passengers he was one of
forty who were saved. Mrs. Knapp's mother was born in St. Louis. She
moved to Grant county with her parents when a child. Mrs. Knapp's jiar-
ents were married in Grant county and to them were born eight children,
five of whom are living: Clara, who is the wife of Frank Caspers, of Long
Prairie; Anna, who is the wife of Mr. Knajjp; Margaret, who is deceased;
Susan A., who is a teacher at Prescott, Wisconsin; Lena, who is the wife of
Clyde Rudworth, a dentist, of Prescott; .Agnes, who lives with her parents
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 703
at Cassville, Wisconsin; Fred, who died at the age of four years; and one
who died in infancy. Mrs. Knapp's parents are both living in Cassville,
Grant county, Wisconsin. Her father has been a farmer by occupation but
is now living retired.
Mr. and Mrs. Perry Knapp have six children, all of whom are living:
Lillian M., who graduated from the high school at Long Prairie and from
the domestic science course at Stout's College at Menominee, Wisconsin;
Roland F., who is a senior in the high school at Long Prairie; Leona S.,
who is a member of the junior class in the Long Prairie high school; Clyde
F., Lucille A. and Raymond W., all of whom live at home.
Although Mr. Knapp is nominally identified with the Republican party,
he is independent in voting and supports whom he believes to be the best
man for the office regardless of parties. Mr. Knapp's wife and the members
of his family are members of the Catholic church.
HENRY GOTHMAN.
Henry Gothman, a prosperous farmer of Round Prairie township, Todd
county, Minnesota, is a native of Carver county, where he was born on
November 5, 1884. Mr. Gothman is the son of Louis and Mary (Seigal)
Gothman, t)Oth of whom were born in Carver county, ]\nnncsota. They
were married in Carver county and are still living. They reside in Long
Prairie, to which they moved in 1913, after the father had retired from
active life. He owns two hundred and forty acres of land in Long Prairie
township. To Louis and Mary (Seigal) Gothman were born eleven chil-
dren, all of whom are living, as follow : Henry, who is the subject of this
sketch; George, who lives in Reynolds township; Anna, who is the wife of
Henry Strack, of Long Prairie township: Favey, who is the wife of John
Moutgh, of Long Prairie township; Catherine, who lives at Ix)ng Prairie
with her parents: Dora, who is the wife of Charles Wiedholtz, of Wiscon-
sin; Mary, who lives with her sister in Wisconsin: Minnie, Philip, FJnora
and Tracy, all of whom are at home.
Henry Gothman received a liberal education in the district schools of
Todd county and later attended the German Catholic school at Long Prairie.
Some years ago Mr. Gothman purchased a farm of one hundrefl anrl fifty-
eight acres in sections 21 and 22, of Round Prairie township, all of which
was cleared with the exception of thirty acres. Mr. Gothman has since
704 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
erected a fine barn and a comfortable house and is engaged in raising high
grade Hve stock.
On January 26, 1909, Henry Gothman was married to Rose Gerlach, a
daughter of Henry and Anna (Nassline) Gerlach, both of whom are resi-
dents of Long Prairie township. Mr. and Mrs. Gothman have two sons,
Raymond, bom on October 20, 191 1, and Alonzo, boni on December 16,
1913-
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Gothman are members of the Catholic church
at Long Prairie. Mr. Gothman is identified with the Democratic party. He
is now serving his fourth term as trustee of Round Prairie township and
has also served as school treasurer in Round Prairie township. He is an
enterprising young farmer and a successful business man and has a host of
friends in the neighborhood where he lives.
MERTON E. GUTCHES.
Merton E. Gutches, a successful farmer of Reynolds township, is a
veteran of the Spanish-American War. He enlisted in Company K, Four-
teenth Regiment, Minnesota Volunteers, as a private and was mustered out
as a corporal. He enlisted on May 8, i8q8, and was honorably discharged
on November 18, 1898, at St. Paul.
Merton E. Gutches was born in Reynolds township, Todd county,
Minnesota, December 8, 1879, and is the son of Charles and Josephine
(Connor) Gutches. Mr. Gutches' father was born in New York state and
his mother was a native of Indiana. Before their marriage they located in
Minnesota with their respective parents. Mr. Gutches' mother came with
her parents to Sauk Center, Minnesota, and his father came with his par-
ents, in 1872, to Todd county. The Gutches family settled in Revnolds
township and it was in Todd county that Mr. and Mrs. Charles Gutches
were married. They were the parents of four children, one of whom died in
infancy. The three living children are: Merton E., the subject of this
sketch; Nellie, who is the wife of B. W. Madison, of .St. Louis: and .\ddie,
who is the wife of John Hanes, of Reynolds township.
Merton E. Gutches was educated in the district schools of Todd countv
and in the high school at Long Prairie. He owns one hundred and sixty
acres of land in section 27, of Re\TioIds township, over half of which is
under cultivation. Mr. Gutches has made most of the improvements and
MORRISON AND TODD COl'NTIES, MINNESOTA. 705
now has a splendid barn and a very comfortable house. He has made a
specialty of raising purebred Holstein-Friesian cattle. The Reynolds Co-
operative Creamery Company was organized in 1904, and Mr. Gutches has
served as secretary of this concern for the past seven years.
On August 10, 1905, Merton E. Gutches was married to Martha Noble,
the daughter of D. H. and Martha Noble, who now reside in the village
of Osakis, Douglas county, Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Gutches have one son,
Roderick U.
Mr. Gutches is a Democrat in politics and for the past seven years has
served as treasurer of Reynolds township. He is a member of the Modern
Woodmen of America, at Long Prairie, and of the Knights of the Macca-
bees, at Long Prairie.
GEORGE EDEBURN.
George Edeburn, a well-known retired farmer of Scandia Valley town-
ship, Morrison county, Minnesota, is a native of IVIercer county, Pennsyl-
vania, where he was born on June i, 1844. Mr. Edeburn is the son of
Joseph and Elizabeth (Ward) Edeburn, and the eldest of live children bom
to his parents. Philip F., the second born, died in Mississippi during the
Civil War; James W. resides in the state of Washington; John B. resides
at Holdingford, Stearns county, Minnesota; Mrs. Mary Jane Whan resides
at Royalton, Minnesota.
The late Joseph Edeburn, who was born in eastern Pennsylvania in
181 7, and who was a shoemaker by trade, emigrated with his family in 1854
to Scott county. Iowa, and died there the next year, in 1855. Mrs. Eliza-
beth (Ward) Edeburn was also born in Pennsylvania, in 1824, and died in
1903. She was a devout member of the Presbyterian church.
George Edeburn was educated in the public schools of Pennsylvania
and in the district schools of Scott county, Iowa. Upon the death ni liis
father he returned with his mother, brother and sisters to Pennsylvania,
where he remained on a farm until nineteen years old, after which he
worked in the coal mines until twenty-three years old, driving a team on the
tramway. In 1866 he immigrated with his mother's family to Minnesotai
and the next year joined his brother, James, in homesteading one hundred
and sixty acres of land in McLeod county, Minnesota. Various improve-
ments were made on the farm, but Mr. Edeburn later sold out and purchased
706 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Other land. In 1882 he removed to Morrison county, Minnesota, and pur-
chased forty acres in Rails Prairie township. Mrs. Edeburn had also home-
steaded one hundred and sixty acres in Scandia Valley township and now
owns eighty-seven acres, all of which except eighteen acres is under culti- >
vation. Mr. Edeburn has retired from fanning and his sons are now
operating the home place. They keep Holstein cattle and Clydesdale horses
and have won numerous prizes on the horses and cattle at the Cass county,
Minnesota, fair.
In 1883 George Edeburn was married to Dora Rail, a native of Coles
county, Illinois, born on February 2, 1859. Mrs. Edeburn is the daughter
of Case and Sarah (McHenry) Rail, both of whom were Ixirn in Maryland.
Mrs. Edeburn's father was a slaveholder before the Civil War. She has
borne her husband ten children, namely : James W. resides at Mason City,
Iowa; Earl, Grover, Hope, Dewey and Hazel live at home with their par-
ents; Case and Thomas reside in Canada; Mrs. Mable Lick resides in North
Dakota; one child died in infancy.
Mr. Edeburn is a Democrat in politics and formerly was a member of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is well known to the citizens
of Scandia Valley township and has a host of friends in this communitv.
BENJAMIN B. BATES.
One of the extensive landholders and representative farmers of Mor-
rison county, Minnesota, is Benjamin Bates. Reared to the sturdy discipline
of the farm, he began early to contribute his share of labor and attention
to the development of affairs in his community. Imbued with the highest
ideals of citizenship and possessing a mind of unusual faculties, he has
exercised his right to assist in upbuilding the agricultural interests in the
locality in which he lives. His father, who was one of the pioneer settlers
of Minnesota, displayed a marked degree of assiduity in his method of clear-
ing the primitive wilderness, and upon his death left a name of the highest
worth in the county of his labors.
The Bates family came originally from New York. Benjamin Bates
was born there, in Erie county, on the 5th of December, 1868, and his par-
ents were both natives of the same state. His father, Ephraim Bates, was
Ixjrn on the 25th of May, 1835, and remained in the state of New York,
filling the occupation of farmer until 1870, when he came to Green Prairie
MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 707
township, Morrison county, to engage in the same business. The land pur-
chased by him at the time of his arrival consisted of two hundred and twelve
acres in section 9. The land was sold, however, in 1883, when Mr. Bates
went to Darling township, to farm on a tract of land he bought in section
10, extending over one hundred and sixty acres. For twelve years he was
engaged in building up the farm he had bought, and added many improve-
ments to it, including the building of a new house and barn. The land in
this section is especially rich and adaptable to the needs of the agriculturist,
the accumulation of decayed vegetation having left a top covering on the
rich soil. Mr. Bates was not long in discovering the farming possibilities
in the locality where he was engaged and made a third purchase of land,
this tract being located in section 9, Darling township. The farm covered
eighty acres and on this land Mr. Bates farmed until his death, which
occurred in 1910. Lucetta (Roberts) Bates, his wife, was born in 1845, in
New York and died on the 17th of September. 1914. Slie became the
mother of ten children, all of whom are living. Both parents are buried in
Randall, Minnesota.
Benjamin Bates received his early education in the Prairie township
schools. He attended district number 12, which was a log school of the
most primitive type. He recalls the one-room cabin, the one teacher and
the three branches taught and pictures scenes that have entirely vanished
from rural school life. During his school days he had numerous small
duties to perform on the farm and was reared in an environment of hard
work. He worked at home with his father until he was twenty-one years
of age, then left to engage in farming in the Dakotas and western Minnesota.
In 1898 he bought a farm in Morrison county, Minnesota, located in sec-
tion 31, Clough township. The land was all unimproved and presented the
most uncultivated aspects of rural life. Mr. Bates set at once to the task
of clearing the land of its thick covering of vegetation and has worked
diligently in that direction, until now he has fifty acres free from underbrush
and in the most excellent state of cultivation. The farm house, which is
strictly modern in its construction, is surrounded by the most picturesque
forms of landscape and is placed in a setting of trees arranged in a grove
which add much to the beauty of the farm. Other buildings on the farm
include a large stock bam and a silo. The land itself extends over a tract
of one hundred and twenty acres. Mr. Bates keeps a graded stock of
Guernsey cattle and is a shareholder in the Randall creamery. He was also
president of the creamery for one year.
In 1899, Mr. Bates was married to Edith Briese, a native of Milwaukee,
708 MORRISON AND TODD COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Wisconsin. She was born on the 7th of May, 1877, and is the daughter of
August and Ernstena (Barkie) Briese, natives of Germany. Her parents
settled in Wisconsin, where her father was section foreman on a railroad
for a number of years. He died in 1910, at the age of sixty-one years.
Mrs. Ernstena Briese is now living in Glenwood, Minnesota, and is sixty-
five years old. She is the mother of seven children.
To Mr. and Mrs. Bates the following children have been born. Bertha.
Bessie, Ralph, Florence, Lora, Edward and Cora, all of whom are at home
with their parents. Bessie is a graduate of the eighth grade of the Clough
township schools. In his political interests Mr. Bates is a Republican. He
is a member of the Lutheran church, and contributes generously to its sup-
port. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America
lodge.
DEC
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